The plus-size fashion industry in the
USA is a thriving
business. Nowadays
plus-size
women
are making their mark on
international covers and
on the catwalk and models such as Crystal Renn
went from skinny to size
12 and gained the respect
of legendary Karl Lagerfeld who cast her in his
2011 Chanel Resort show.
The success of this industry did however not
occur overnight and it
took hard work and commitment from dedicated
people to establish it as a
recognised element in the
everyday fashion environment.
Catherine Schuller is one of the pioneers of the
plus-size fashion industry. She’s not only respected for her work in her home city of New York,
but her influence has even reached the furthest
corners of the globe. Over the last two decades
Catherine has worked tirelessly to pave the way
for women with curves to get some well-deserved representation on the runway and in the
fashion industry.
A longstanding advocate for diversity and size-acceptance, Catherine was a Ford model when the
industry was just forming in the 1980s and has
become the “go-to” person in the industry for all
things plus-size.
‘My motto is to be the person I wish I had met
when I first moved to New York some thirty odd
years ago,’ she says.
Catherine used her various platforms to become a
spokesperson for the plus-size industry. She was
Fashion Retail Editor of MODE Magazine, Media
Spokesperson for Charming Shoppes, and is Image and Style Director for DIVABETIC, a charity
for women living with, affected by or living with
diabetes.