I’m in awe of the strides that the plus size community has made this year. From a plus size reality show in the Caribbean to a fashion show in Singapore, embracing curves is not just a U.S. thing. I recently had the chance to interview Nica Stapel of Castaluna.com, a great online shopping experience straight from France.
Tell me about Castaluna? How long have you been in business?
We just launched Castaluna.com in mid October but we had been preparing the site for months.
Why plus size clothing?
First of all because I am Plus Size myself, and like any curvy woman, I found it very difficult to find trendy clothing, especially in France, where most fashion designers have been ignoring curvy women and acting as if every woman is a size 12 or less. But in France, like in most european countries, 45% of the women wear a size 14 or more. On the other hand, studies were made in the 5 past years, and they show that these 45% exist. I think this is the reason why some designers choose to work on plus size fashion, and some new brands appeared in Europe. All this convinced me it was a very good time to show that France and Europe are waking up, and to gather and rally in one place (our online store) trendy brands and designers who don’t only think “thin”, but also think “curvy”.
What are some of the brands you carry?
The brands with which we start our activity on our first season are : Biluzik, Raf & Raf, and Carisal (Spain), Carmakoma (Denmark), Coleen Bow, Epicea (France), Exelle (Germany), Karen Kane and Not Your Daughter Jean’s (USA). We also do some “Lingerie” with Anita and Rosa Faia (Germany), and we selected a few pair of boots with wide calf within Lisa Tucci collection.
Next season we’ll have the pleasure to welcome numerous other brands like : Akela Key, Heteroclite, Zaza of marseille (France), Veto and Simply (Denmark), Hebbeding (Netherlands), Yoek (Belgium), Sonia Marohn (Germany)
What sets your online store apart?
Our concept is to be a kind of “Galeries Lafayette for Curvy Women”. Galeries Lafayette is a worldwide famous department store in Paris, which is a symbol for Fashion, where young designers can have their chance, because Galeries Lafayette are providing [customers] with all the last Fashion Trends and discovering [the] next top designer. Such a store does not exist for Plus Size. Plus Size Brands, or Brands which carry a wide size range, have never been together in the same place. We are the only place in Europe, I think, which gives offers the opportunity to shop different Designer Brands in the same place. We consider this is the only and the best way to have fashion and Curvy Women to meet!
Any plans to open a physical location?
Not yet, but if our growth allows it, why not ? I would be very happy to open a Castaluna Store on the Champs Elyséees.
Working in fashion, what trends are you seeing a lot of and what are customers requesting?
This winter is a very glamourous winter. Sequins, strass, “paillettes” are on center stage. The eighties also made a strong come back. And finally, as if the crisis lead us seeking for reinsurance, the “chic parisien” became a kind of timeless “sure value”.
For the same reason, next Spring/Summer, I think a wind of pragmatism will blow on our dressings, borrowing from military or sport dress codes. The religion of “Les sis more” might become a must again. On the other hand, I think French Luxury fashion is going to appropriate more and more Streetwear Codes and add to it this famous french touch. Inspired by the graphic dynamism of Street Wear, designers create sleek silhouettes combining this urban energy with luxury codes.
And finally, because Fashion is also optimistic and enthusiastic, I think designers will celebrate the end of the crisis by mixing dress codes borrowed all over the planet, combining unexpected colors and shapes. In France we call it “Fusion”.
I am not sure anybody can clearly define what customers are requesting, as if there was some common or unique behavior shared by a majority. Nowadays, variety is a value. People pick and choose among this variety, according to their own taste , but also we are not monolithic : our lives have different facets, and we expect fashion to enable the expression of these different “me”.
And this is exactly what Castaluna tries to achieve -allow our customers to pick from different styles, for their different moods.
How do you decide which brands you want to carry?
The first criteria is “Fashion”. It means that we look at the collections with the eyes of a “Not Plus Size” to figure out if this brand would fit in any Fashion/trendy Store. We don’t want Plus Size Fashion to be specific. We think that Plus Size Clothing should reflect the current Fashion trends.
How often do you get new merchandise in?
Very regularly. At least once a month we have new styles …Fashion is also a movement !
Do you ship internationally? How can we join your mailing list?
Yes we ship internationnaly to European countries, USA, and Canada. We hope to be able to translate our website within the next 6 months, but in the meanwhile, google can help you translating if you need it. You can join our mailing list by going on our website Castaluna.com and leaving your email address.
Editor-In-Chief, Stephanie Penn-Danforth -- Daily Venus Diva.
[...] well as Europe have been waking up, as well as to accumulate as well as … The rest is here: Castaluna.Com Gives Plus Size Fashion A New Meaning | Daily Venus Diva Tags: brands-appeared, convinced, Europe, plus-size, reason, the-reason, very-good [...]