It’s finally here! Beth Ditto finally launched her plus-size fashion line and honestly, it’s revolutionary. The 34-year-old Gossip frontwoman describes her new line as ‘uncomfromising, unaplogetic, and timeless. Go-to pieces designed to last. A moment by us, for us’
This is the first line Ditto has done on her own, as she previously collaborated with Evans in 2009. She also collaborated with Jean Paul Gaultier in December and walked the catwalk for Marc Jacobs last year during fashion week. The line will debut on Monday and will be a 21 piece collection that will kick start the change Ditto wants to see in the fashion industry today. She has always been vocal about body positvity and has had quite the presence in the fashion industry recently so it was understandable as to why she thought to venture into design. She told Vogue “The Gossip ended, and I was on my own and was just like ‘You know what? This cow’s ready to milk! Let’s do this”. 
When talking about the decision to do it alone, as opposed to a collaboration she said “[with collaborating] there’s a lot of compromising you had to do. Since it’s the high street, you don’t necessarily have any say over what’s being made. I really wanted to do something that you could wear and be proud of, that’s not a 90s throwback, not an 80s throwback – it’s just what it is”. Of course, the line isn’t your average fashion line and there are elements of the Gossip singer radiating through the entire collection. There are prints, satin, curve-hugging dresses and a gorgeous jumpsuit. All of the items in the collection are things that Ditto would wear, she told Refinery29 “I always have an event to go to or something to do, and I don’t have the beautiful privilege of being able to walk into a store and be like ‘that’ dress, that’s the one’. I’m always having to rush around or get creative, get someone to make me something, or wear something old. I know it sounds like fancy problems but the truth is, if you don’t have the luxury of just walking into a place and finding something you can feel good about buying, that’s made ethically and of extremely high quality…there’s just a huge gap: quality, ethics, love, consideration, and passion, because this is made by a fat person, for fat people”. 
The campaign features well-known plus size models Barbie Ferreria and Philomena Kwao. When asked about the change in how we see plus size fashion, she said “Change is slow. In the last 10 years, so much has changed in large part because of the internet, but it isn’t anywhere near what it could be or will be. I wish taht people would stop equating fat people with laziness, and with being unhealthy”. Ditto launched the collection at NYFW and is available to buy at her website and at Selfidges. You can check out some more images of the collection below.
all images belong to Beth Ditto
Holly Martin
holly@brightonjournal.co.uk
