It’s time to rewrite fashion history.
Dia&Co, a subscription-based plus-size apparel service that offers personal styling advice, has decided it’s time to increase the representation of plus-sized women in fashion by revisiting some of the most iconic moments in denim history with a more inclusive eye as part of its new spring campaign.
Dia&Co’s “We Are All Icons” campaign recreate world-famous denim advertisements initially shot with supermodels and artists such as Brooke Shields, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and Diana Ross. Using the enduring fame of these images, Dia&Co is making a statement about representation and inclusion in fashion—a world that historically has been difficult to enter for plus-sized women.
“Women who wear sizes 14+ make up 67 percent of the population, but are included in less than 3 percent of media images. In particular, these women have been left out of fashion’s most iconic imagery,” the brand explained. “For years, straight size bodies have been put on a pedestal, telling most women that they would have to completely change their bodies in order to be celebrated, or even seen.”
Dia&Co believes that lack of visibility leads to systemic issues in both the way women view themselves and the way society views women who do not fit the ideals of the models found in those classic images. Instead, it wants to use its platform to offer more options and increased visibility for women who have been underrepresented.
According to the brand, Dia&Co chose denim for the campaign because it believes the wardrobe staple is “perhaps the most iconic garment in American fashion” while also being one of the most challenging items to find in extended sizing and with the right fit.
“Jeans are a pain point for plenty of women, which is only amplified among plus women,” the brand continued. “Plus women deserve to participate, rather than being shut out of this staple of the American wardrobe. It was important to us to showcase the fit of Dia denim and the bodies for which we design.”
Dia&Co operates as a traditional subscription-box service, sending five stylist-picked items after consumers pay a small fee and take a test that will help their stylist make recommendations. Dia awards a 25 percent discount when customers purchase every item in their style box and also offers free and unlimited size exchanges.
The brand says that “a perfect pair of jeans” is sometimes all that it takes to make a woman feel “like an icon.” To help achieve this, the brand says its denim was developed based on the detailed feedback it receives from its consumers—with data points from more than one million try-ons.
Besides trying to create the perfect fit for its jeans and other apparel, Dia&Co hopes that the success of its service and its new campaign helps to develop a new normal in fashion imagery, contending that “plus is not niche.”
“Size is used as a barrier to keep plus women out of the conversation and hidden from the spotlight. We wholly reject that notion,” CEO and co-founder Nadia Boujarwah said in an accompanying statement. “Representation will always matter, and our mission with this campaign is to propel these images into the mainstream, making space and giving voice to generations of plus women.”