• by Sara Guaglione , September 19, 2019

Refinery29 has partnered with plus-size retailer Eloquii to create a 27-piece collection. This is Refinery29’s first direct-to-consumer clothing line.

“The Weekender by Refinery29 x Eloquii” collection, which launched today, is based on insights from a survey of more than 1,000 women across the U.S who are size 12+.

Twenty-nine ambassadors were chosen from that pool to help collaborate on the collection.

“Since day one, customer feedback has been the foundation of our brand,” Bridget Sullivan, director of integrated marketing and customer insights at Eloquii told Publishers Daily. 

She added: “Partnering with Refinery29 allowed us to tap into their highly engaged community to gain insights from inspiring women sizes 12+ that would not only inform the collection aesthetic, design and fit, but also make her know that her voice and feedback was heard and actioned.” 

Created in various prints like "Sunday Stripes," "29 Stars" and "Stylish Spots," the collection has a fall-appropriate color palette of oranges, blues and browns.

Pieces range from T-shirts, blouses, denim and skirts, including a cropped motorcycle jacket, to mom jeans, a cowl-neck slip dress and a crocodile-embossed mini skirt.

Prices range from $49.95 to $129.95, and sizes from 12 to 28.

Refinery29's senior creative Laura Delarato told Forbes: "Eloquii had the knowledge behind every fit decision. We had the knowledge behind giving [the customer] a voice." 

A number of the pieces were specifically created based on feedback from the ambassadors, who wanted to have more options to participate in fashion trends, like leather jackets and denim, Delarato told PD.

Three years ago, Delarato and the team at Refinery29 recognized that while 67% of the U.S. is plus-sized, they were only represented in 1% to 2% of media. They partnered with Lane Bryant and Aerie to create the 67% Projectto bring attention to this issue.

Refinery29 is launching a 360° campaign to promote the collection across Refinery29 digitally and experientially with its audience, including a custom video on the campaign showcasing the collection, as well as the process behind its creation.

Insights and imagery from the collection will be part of Refinery29’s fashion editorial coverage and on its R29 Shop page.

The two companies are also hosting a consumer launch event this Saturday at Eloquii’s NYC store.

The plus-size market is a $21 billion sector growing at a predicted rate of about 6%, according to the companies.