When I studied Pattern Cutting, plus size wasn’t even mentioned as a possibility. Even though I was a size 14/16, it never occurred to me to try and make my collection for a figure like my own instead of the standard size 8 block. But in recent years as diversity in fashion has grown in popularity and Universities have been actively promoting plus size through the likes of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk competitions and The Cut for Evans competition, more and more final year students are creating their final collections in larger sizes.
This year Bath Spa student Katherine Massey will be presenting her final collection in just that manner. Concerned by the lack of options and design quality in plus size fashion, Katherine’s collection is an exploration of silhouette and texture. Combining both playful pattern cutting and textile design skills the collection is a mixture of tailoring and volume playing with proportion and size. There are some distinctively historical references in the jacket shapes, but the embroidery and print keeps the collection modern.
The base palette of nude, black and cream is accented with bold tones of hot pink and blue and while the skirts and trousers are very slim fitted the top half is more voluminous.
It is exciting to see new talent coming through the ranks. Hopefully one of the plus size brands will snap Katherine up!
