FASHION’S NEW PIN-UP

Milan Fashion Week favourite Stella Jean has lent her hand to a fabulous new collaboration: think signature vibrant prints and silhouettes at a fraction of the price. So far, so predictable – but here comes the curve ball. This collaboration sees the Haitian-italian designer team up with Italian favourite Marina Rinaldi, a brand for fashionable, modern women – who just so happen to wear a size 14 to 28. Charlie Gowans-eglinton meets her...

FASHION HAS LONG COME under fire for appearing to favour only one physical type. And while the high street has been quick to respond with ranges for women at the larger end of the size scale, designer houses have been much slower to join in. Now, however, Rihanna and Beyoncé favourite Stella Jean has teamed up with Marina Rinaldi for a high-fashion line aimed at women size 14 plus.

So, did Jean have to compromise her designs, or change her aesthetic, to cater for these ‘plus-size’ women? In short: no.

‘I’m drawn to the shape of the ’50s and ’60s and, at that time, the size that we now work to at Marina Rinaldi was the usual size,’ she says. ‘We used to think much more about curvy women than we do now.’ And while Marina Rinaldi is, technically, a plus-size brand, that’s far from being its mission statement.

In fact, both Marina Rinaldi and Stella Jean share a passion for ‘promoting diversity and culture through fashion’.

‘It can’t be just aesthetic,’ says Jean. ‘I was born and raised in Italy with a white father and a black mother, and you grow up with people always, always staring at you, and asking where you’re from – and when you just answer the truth, that you’re Italian, no one believes you. For this collaboration, I tried to show that if I can put two opposite cultures together in fashion, and that works, it is the same thing in real life.’

This being fashion, it is, of course, also about the clothes – and when Grazia first laid eyes on the brilliant preview collection in Milan, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it.

The prints, a celebratory mish-mash of colour and form across flowing dresses, full skirts and cropped trousers, are surprisingly easy to wear. And for the accessories, Stella worked with artisans in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, bringing centuries-old techniques to contemporary designs. So yes, this is fashion with a conscience, and yes, this is a plus-size collection. But really, when everything is said and done, these are just gorgeous, joyful pieces that we can’t wait to wear. The collection launches at the beginning of January 2017.Visit Marina Rinaldi’s London flagship store at 5 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4Hf,or shop online at marinarinaldi.com