• by Sarah Mahoney , over 1 hour ago

With the latest move in its ongoing reinvention, JCPenney is making a bold play for plus-size shoppers, launching a new line with supermodel Ashley Graham. These aren’t just upsized outfits, either: The entire Ashley Graham for JCPenney collection is designed only for curvy women, in sizes 14 and up.

To make the point that the retailer believes this group finally serves their main-character moment, the campaign includes a movie trailer for “Omitted,” a taut thriller that will never be made. In it, Graham shows off the new line and dramatizes how plus-size women, who make up 67% of adult women in the U.S., feel overlooked. Only 20% of clothes that make it into stores fit them, and they get just 6.7% of film character roles.

This isn’t just a collection,” says Michelle Wlazlo, JCPenney’s CEO, in a press release written as if it is a film script. “It’s a movement and a celebration of visibility, voice, and vibrancy … our partnership with Ashley is rooted in the belief that plus-size women deserve to be at the heart of the story—not the sidelines.”

The idea behind the designs, the company says, is to make clothes that “flatter, not hide” women’s curves. That includes plenty of darts and silhouette-enhancing construction, in a combination of textures, fabrics and trends. Those include attention-grabbing necklines, faux-fur trench coats and satin slip dresses.

The retailer’s attempt to flip the script is part of a barrage of new efforts under the “Yes, JCPenney!” umbrella campaign, all aimed at shaking up perceptions of the retailer as an outdated relic of Middle America.

In recent months, those efforts have included a clever “anonymous” ad campaign, which included billboards in Times Square; a chic-yet-affordable California budget wedding set in the “Other Venice,” just as billionaire Jeff Bezos was getting hitched in Italy; and an ongoing comedy showcase, with Shaq as MC, on Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football.”