Fashion Plus (for International Market News)

Queen Latifah: celebrating curves

Fashion Plus: American Women Demand Full-Figured Style

Whichever way you measure it, it’s clear that body sizes are increasing far beyond the fashion industry ideal of a model size 8, which begs the question of exactly what the term ‘plus-size’ apparel means when ‘plus’ becomes the norm and not the exception.

“I do not want to wear knit cardigans with seasonal motifs sewn down the front of the lapels,” says Lorena K. aged 30 of Iowa, a size 24 Lane Bryant fan. “I don’t look good with leaves or snowmen or cornucopias running down my plump front-side.”

Business feature on how fashion brands fit the market, and a straw poll of what curvy women really want.

(For International Market News)

The Luxury of Superior Sales

There’s nothing like the feel of Chanel.

The Luxury of Superior Sales

As a refreshing contrast to the notion that the UK is crammed with cost-conscious consumers who will travel fifty miles out of town to pick up a bargain at a discount store, the luxury fashion sector is proving surprisingly buoyant.

There are now an estimated 47,000 millionaires in Britain. However, the taste for luxury is not solely a millionaire’s prerogative. “Today it seems that for many, only the best will do,” says Anna Starmer of trend consultancy Global Color Research Ltd.

Report by special correspondent Tania Casselle, UK, for International Market News.

Soybean Arrives on the Fashion Menu (for International Market News)

Making a meal of fashion: Soybean Arrives on the Fashion Menu

Soy in clothing isn’t exactly new. Motor magnate Henry Ford talked of it in the 1940s and was photographed wearing the first known soy suit and tie.  Soy fibers largely disappeared until recent developments brought soy back to the fashion plate. Now, soybean protein fiber is being touted as a ‘vegetable cashmere’ – an eco-friendly luxury textile offering the properties today’s consumers demand.

Report for International Market News in Hong Kong from special correspondent Tania Casselle, New York.