Ciao Bella,
I feel blessed – as after my first exclusive interview
regarding Bristish Plus Size Fashion
Weekend (n.b. the name changed to avoid misunderstandings as it is an
independent event, not related to London Fashion Week) with Rianne Ward (CLICK HERE)
I had another fantastic chance to speak with one of the most relevant person
behind the curtains, the „mother” of it all. This young lady is only 25 but had
a dream and went for it – her name is Remi
Ray, a UK plus size fashion blogger
and owner of Trapped in a Skinny World vintage design online boutique.
Cupcake&Pearls: Remi,
please tell us how Trapped in a Skinny World was born?
Remi Ray: I was
in my last year at university when I started the blog and the online boutique
project. As since the age of 13 I started to design clothes, this path seemed
an obvious choice to kickoff. Being a plus size girl I really found myself many
times trapped in this (skinny) world and hence the name came.
C&P: You designed
clothes as a kid?That is quite exceptional from a teenager!
R.R: Yeah as I
was always a bigger girl and frustration creates miracles and provides
solutions – since all my friends praised my appearance with compliments and
they wanted to know how a size 16 (EU 44) girl finds so fashionable clothes, I
decided to give a helping hand for curvy women. People’s interest for vintage
clothing started to grow at the time (at 2010) and it made me happy to be able
to help my curvy peers as I did not (and do not) do it for the sake of getting
rich – and believe me, I am still far from being a Rockefeller (she laughs) but
my heart became richer and richer with every smile I could put on plus size
women’s face when they finally found appropriate and unique clothes at my
boutique.
C&P: But if I am
well-informed, your boutique is not available at the moment, correct?
R.R.: Yes, you
are right as it is going through some exciting changes and after the Bristish Plus Size Fashion Weekend – I
will re-launch Trapped in a Skinny World
with even more unique pieces to offer.
C&P: I can imagine
you hardly get a couple of hours sleep – February 16 is so close!
R.R: And time is
flying – my life is really rapid-flowing now but I was never so happy in my
life like right now when I see my dream is becoming reality.
C&P: Please tell me
how your dream was born? When and why you wanted this event to happen?
R.R: I think plus size women have limited choices
and since fashion was and is my passion, I did not feel it fair that among the
many international fashion weeks, there is non for curvy women – I wanted to
give them a choice to meet, to interact, to join the „curvy army” as I
frequently refer to our community. I always dreamed about organizing an event
which is about us and for us – but being a fresh graduate with very limited
finances, it seemed impossible. And then I reached out to Rianne.
C&P: I believe UK’s
number one online plus size magazine, the Evolve was the right hand to reach out to!
R.R: Exactly –
and Rianne is a fantastic woman! She inspires me with her attitude of being
fast-forward with excellent skills to have things done (she laughs). So we
started a conversation which reached the state that British Plus Size Fashion Weekend was born in September 2012. Rianne
pulled out her cards with contacts in the industry but as the process started,
the industry reached out for us: designers, retailers, journalists, bloggers
started to contact us as they all wanted to be part of something great,
something we all waited for to happen! Simply Be, Cover-up Clothing (Live
Unlimited Collection) Syreeta Badu, Paulie and Julie, One One Three, Carolyn De
La Drapiere, Edwin Sinke, Curvissa, Sky media - are just a few name to mention
who joined our team of 10 which I would not like to miss to mention. As what
you see is the result of teamwork from: Eileen, Skye, Emmanuela, Yasmine,
Megan, Michela, Bemi, Dedz who all work
very hard to make this dream a reality.
C&P: So the whole
curvy world started to interact – you also had an open casting for models,
right?
R.R: Yes, after
we placed a public invitation, looking for plus size models– we received
approximately 300 online applications from all around the globe and last year
December we held a casting where we selected 15 models – also Hungarian ones as
you know – and together with another bunch of models from Milk Management, we
will have 25-30 curvy ladies on the catwalks on Saturday, 16 February. They
will be the closing show of the day – after a very interactive program
throughout the whole day as we want to provide a platform of communication
where participants can have for instance styling masterclass then use the
gained knowledge at a clothes-swapping session so they know what to choose for
their bodytype. We also thought of women who are contemplating plus size
modelling as Anna Shillinglaw (ex model founder of Milk Management) will be holding a
model 101 class and give advice for aspiring plus size models. Plus size panel
discussion will be moderated by top blogger Lauren Ding from Pocket Rocket
Fashion.
C&P: So your dream
was not only a fashion show but rather a mission, to start the change!
R.R: Exactly –
and as self-confidence is crucial to live a happy curvy life, I want to help
for the women out there who hide in their closets and afraid to step out. It is
time to let our voices to be heard and I want to take plus size women on a
journey which ends in celebrating and embracing our curves!
C&P: Thank you for
the interview, Remi – you are a real inspiration for all types of woman that
dreams can really come true!
R.R: Thank you
for your support and interest – and we will continue in February, hope you can
join our tables as an invited blogger on the exclusive Press Day.
C&P: I feel honoured – thanks a million, see you
soon!
Talking to this exceptional Beauty with Plus was
really an uplifting experience – her neverending smile, despite the tiredness
in her eyes, her positive charisma and hard work must stand as a role model in
front of us. She found her voice at a very early age therefore she was never
bullied or judged by other people for being plus size – as she defeated the
demons inside her and started to see herself beautiful. As she described, it is
a journey – and not paved all the time with happy moments: Remi told me the
story when she was still hiding herself in the closet and did not dare to face
the fact that she is bigger than the skinny girls. Back at the time she worked
for River Island (UK fashion brand) and instead of going to the women’
department, she picked men’s jeans to wear at work, because she did not want
her size to be a subject matter. She rather lied to her colleagues that she is
a fan of male jeans. But those times are over – the young woman whom I had a
conversation with was a confident, happy person who found her harmony within
and aims to help others in the journey. She wants to prove to all curvy women
that regardless the size they are wearing, they all have the beauty in them,
just need to turn their eyes to their inner values, instead of the labels on
their clothes – I think I found a UK twin sister who share what my blog and my
mission is about!
xoxo
Susie
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