Our mission was to go to a Target store and find potential for a new or existing market. After finding an area to work with we were to brainstorm and create a mood board that would describe our line esthetic. From the mood board we were to design anywhere from three to six looks that were cohesive. We had to keep in mind that what we were designing was for a mass production market, and had to keep in mind Target's ideal customer. When traveling through the store I came across the active wear section, and it was very plain. Most of the garments were ordinary colors and did not encourage me to want to work out. The next thing I noticed was that the sizing went up to larges but when tried on they did not support or flatter my body shape. The larger sized active wear was just bigger versions of the smalls and mediums. A plus sized woman needs support in areas that smaller women would not need like the tummy area, buttocks, thighs, and breasts. Clothing that lacks support in these area are an annoyance when trying to be active. When plus sized women do not have supportive clothing while working out the pants seem to always fall down, the shirt slides up, and the sports bras are not holding up anything. I wanted to give plus sized woman active wear they will feel 100% comfortable in so they can achieve their weight loss goal. In order to make plus sized active wear functional and flattering I researched techniques that are used to mask the areas that women are most sensitive about. Techniques that I researched explained putting a more form fitting interlining between garments to help push in areas, another was cutting knits on the bias to allow for room to stretch but still controlled to tuck in a tummy. I also surveyed fellow plus sized women on what makes their work out clothing uncomfortable, and common answers were the sliding down/up of clothing, its not flattering, their fat rolls hang out, and it does not look appealing. From research I came up with designs that combined the most wanted aspect of functionality, with something that would appeal to millennial aged women. I used colors from the 1990's because they are bright and energetic, I made a toss print of silhouetted dumbbells to resemble 90's prints, and designed seam work inspired by the 90's show "dragon Ball Z". With the prints, color blocking, and seam work I was able to play with how the person looks at the designs making the wearer look slimmer, and physically make the wearer look slimmer by using bias-cut techniques. I named this collection BodyCon+ (body-con plus) because plus sized women are definitely body conscious, and even more so when they are working out.

Published: October 28, 2013