‘Why should we feel bad about ourselves?’: affordable size-inclusive Indian fashion entrepreneur on meeting the needs of plus-size women
- When Brishti Ghosh bought fashion online it didn’t meet expectations ‘because the clothes are always modelled by a thin person’. So she launched her own line
- She is one of several entrepreneurs who have made the lives of plus-size Indians – half the market, and growing – easier and helped improve their self-image
When New Delhi, India-based Hameeda Syed goes clothes shopping, she tends to gravitate towards the men’s section. A plus-sized woman of above-average height, she finds shirts and jeans designed for men most comfortable.
For Aarti Krishnakumar from Pune, growing up in a small south Indian town meant covering up in roomy shalwar kameez and full-sleeved dresses that fell well below the knee.
“It was not so much about modesty as about my size. ‘You are fat, so you need to cover up’,” she remembers her mother advising her.
Syed is in her twenties, Krishnakumar in her forties, and they have grown up at opposite ends of the country. What unites them is their lifelong quest for affordable, yet stylish clothes made for curvier bodies.
There is really no such thing as a standard size
According to the research firm Future Market Insights, the market for plus-sized clothing was valued at US$276 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach US$288 billion this year. In India, the plus-size segment accounted for half of all consumers in 2019, and demand is only growing.