2011 has played an important role in the movement of the plus size industry. In the next few days we will be reflecting on all the big moments that have played a major role in world of plus.

But first off we have to share something we are so very proud of – our own news and press! Madison Plus is making an impact in the world of mainstream fashion and this cannot be done without you and your support! Day by day we open the doors of discussion inside the mainstream fashion industry showing them talented plus designers and explaining to them the reasons why plus can no longer be ignored and as you can see below, they are listening!

Take a look MP’s Top 20 Press pieces for 2011:

CBS Early Show
TheStir
Real Simple Magazine
Huffington Post / AOL Stylist
The Today Show
WPIX 11
Essence Magazine
Fox Business News
Refinery29
Essence.com
People Style Watch (Aug)
Redbook Magazine
Be You Be Bold
People Style Watch (Oct)
InStyle Magazine – Best of Web 2011
Essence Magazine – Black Book
Jones Magazine – Ahead of the Curve
Consumer Reports – ShopSmart
Glamour Magazine
People Style Watch (Dec)

We can’t wait for more in 2012!

2010 was a newsworthy year for the plus industry! So many wonderful things happened that it was hard for us to keep up! We had plus models featured on the covers of major fashion magazines, new plus designer lines, the first ever plus-size fashion show in NYC, and the re-launch of MadisonPlus.com. Check out our list of the top 10 news stories of 2010 and please let us know your favorites!

The Top News Stories of 2010:

10. Beth Ditto is Back with Evans

9. Crystal Renn on the June cover of Glamour with Brooklyn Decker and Alessandra Ambrosio and the behind the scenes pictures.

8. Bloomingdales Fall Plus Size Style Guide and Saks to Sell Designer Plus

7. Curves for Change Launch Party

6. French Elle on Newsstands Today

5. So Hot Its Burning- New V Mag Photos V Magazines Pics are Here and V Magazine Pics are Here

4. A Big Fat Lie and Crystal Renn on the Today Show

3. Fox and ABC Refuse to Air Sex Lane Bryant Aid and The MP Exclusive Ashley Graham Issuu

2. The OneStopPlus.com Fashion Show

1. MadisonPlus.com re-launch (ok, so we may be a little biased… )

What was your favorite news story of 2010? Do you agree with our picks?

We want your style! Your street style pictures that is! Send us your head-to-toe pictures showcasing your unique style for a chance to be featured on Madison Plus!

What makes a good street style picture?

• Keep the background simple or find an interesting street!
• Watch the red eye!
• Show us your head-to-toe look!

Send us your best head-to-toe looks to Info@MadisonPlus.com

Here is a great example of a street style look from Annie Laurie of NYC:

Send us your best head-to-toe looks to Info@MadisonPlus.com

Ford+ model Crystal Renn is featured in the December 2010 issue of Elle Canada.

This shoot is on the anniversary of Crystal’s last Elle Canada feature that showcased a curvier Crystal. Both shoots are candy for the eyes! Check out Crystal’s last editorial in the January 2010 issue here.

The combination of the scarlet red dress, the white horses, and dimly lit stable is mystifying in its beauty.

Photographer: Leda & St. Jacques

See more from the shoot at Smile.

What do you think of her newest editorial? What is your favorite picture?

What do you think of Robyn Lawley’s latest editorial in the December 2010 issue of Australian Cosmo?

Check out the Avant Garde Magazine editorial with Crystal Renn here!

What do you think of Crystal Renn’s editorial in Avant Garde Magazine?

Elisa D’Ospina went to Fashion Week in Madrid and wrote her thoughts on the recent laws they have passed and the country’s new focus on promoting a healthy body image.  Check out her post and let us know what you think!

These days I have been busy working for the international Fashion Week in Madrid. I have seen a change in Spain since the Spanish Prime Minister, Zapatero, created a law in 2007 that forced manufacturers to standardize sizes. This week a different emphasis was given to the plus-size companies. The objective is to promote an ideal of “healthy beauty” in Spain, where anorexia consumes half a million people. Fashion models who are underweight fail the health checks and are not allowed to walk. Last winter these check found 5 individuals (two Spanish and three foreign) out of 70 who measured 80” tall and weighed less than 50 killograms.

Many women in Spain have sizes above 44, reflect similar ideas about size as Latina women. During my work I have noticed how little communication there is regarding healthy body images in the fashion media.   Apart from the large groups that have been created to address the issues of health and size in the media (such as Curvy Can), many businesses still fail to understand that what is communicated as an ideal feminine image must be done with care.  A woman wants to have the opportunity to enhance her body, be beautiful and pleasing to herself as well as others and must not feel she should have to conform to an imposed ideal. So communicating these ideas well is very important in my opinion. I noticed in Europe recently that there is a small curvy revolution that is starting to happen and is bringing curvy women out behind the shadows with pride of their curvy figures. The models are also slowly changing, leaving at home the skeleton of anorexia. My days in Madrid during Fashion Week were out working and enjoying good food. Very similar to Italian cuisine. Even food for us plus-size model is important to maintain our health.

Spain is a country that I love, but for now  the dream is always America.

To learn more about Elisa D’Ospina or book her for a modeling job, check out ElisaDOspina.com

What do you think of Elisa D’Ospina’s post on Madrid Fashion Week?

The web is blowing up with news coverage of the first ever plus size runway show! We have scoured the web for some of the best news links on this historic plus fashion event by OneStopPlus.com and have rounded them up just for you!

InStyle Magazine- Fashion Week’s First-Ever Plus-Size Fashion Show!

People.com- Gabourey Sidibe chats up Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s Caroline Manzo at the OneStopPlus.com fashion show

People.com- First-Ever Plus-Size Show Hits N.Y.C Fashion Week

The Examiner.com New York- One Stop Plus’ Fashion Show Equals One Big Success!

BBC Newsbeat- First Plus Size Fashion Show held in NY

Glamour.com- Lizzi Miller Walks in the Plus Size Fashion Show and We Chat with Gabourey Sidibe in the Front Row

NYPost.com- Fashion Show is a Big Plus

Elisa D’Ospina for Italian Vogue- Curvy Catwalk in New York

What do you think of this historic first-ever plus size fashion show by OneStopPlus.com?

Top Photo is from InStyle.com, 2nd and 3rd photo are from Glamour.com.

Black is the new black. Yes, this neutral is back with vengeance. We first saw black very heavily in the punk rock trend, now it has reincarnated into to a new dark romance. This new love affair with the color black also brings new fabrications; such as lace and silk and embellishments; such as rosettes, ruffles, and pleats.  This color trend is worn head-to-toe yet has a romantic allure to it. This look was seen all over the Fall 2010 runways with Julien Macdonald, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana all showing the trend so we had to translate it from straight to plus for our fans!

Indulge in a little black magic this season!

Nordstroms- Hanky Panky Long Sleeve Lace Plus Size Tee

Nordstroms- MICHAEL Michael Kors Studded Sleeveless Plus Size Dress

Nordstroms- In Bloom by Jonquil Lace Trim Plus Size Top

Torrid- Tripp Black Skinny-Leg Twill Plus Size Pant

Torrid-Black Pyramid 2-Row Wristband

Torrid- Gold Black and Silver Textured Bangle Bracelet 20-Pack

New Look- Thrill Neck Button Top

New Look- Lace Corsage Top

New Look- Corsage Bubble Hem Top

New Look- Knotted Necklace

Will you indulge in a little black magic?

On July 29th we posted an article by the New York Times written by Ginia Bellafante called “Plus-Size Wars“. The reader’s letters are in and we would like to share with you the reactions New York Time’s posted. Also, check out MP friend and Fashion to Figure’s Co-Founder Michael Kaplan’s letter that made the cut.

Letters: Plus-Size Wars

Thank you to Ginia Bellafante for giving this strange purgatory a name, for I have been on “the bridge” between “regular” and “plus” for most of my adult life. My choices are between too-tight pants and the dreaded droopy crotch; crossing the divide from “women’s” to “plus” always seems to involve a humiliating trip through “maternity.” I hope Bellafante’s article is being passed around the apparel industry as a message: make me a stylish, form-fitting outfit of natural fibers, and I’ll give you my cold, hard cash.

MEGANNE FABREGA
Portsmouth, N.H.

Bellafante mentions my great-grandmother, Lane Bryant, who invented full-fashion and, along with generations of our family (our father was last in the family to run Lane Bryant), built her business into a national chain of stores. What Bellafante doesn’t mention is that my brother and I are continuing Gram’s tradition and seeking to revolutionize the market once more with our Fashion to Figure stores (FTF), which focus on contemporary clothing choices for ladies’ sizes 12 to 26. We founded FTF to build on our family’s 110-year history in full-fashion and to address the very issues highlighted in Bellafante’s article. Gram used to say that you should never ask women to conform their figures to fashion but rather bring fashion to the figure. Bringing fashion to the figure continues to be our passion today.

MICHAEL KAPLAN
Co-Founder and C.E.O., Fashion to Figure
New York

Bellafante’s article gave me the same unease I feel every time I witness the expansion of any clothing store’s “plus size” department. As a mental-health counselor, I often work with young women suffering from eating disorders, guiding them to be comfortable with and accepting of their bodies. Just as troubling as the idea of adolescent girls’ starving themselves thin, however, is evidence of society’s growing acceptance of excessive calorie consumption.

With obesity afflicting more than one-third of the country, perhaps we should be less concerned about how best to disguise excess flesh with leopard prints and sparkly accessories and instead put our efforts toward deterring lifestyles that are just as harmful as self-imposed starvation. In addition to discouraging fashion advertising that prizes jutting hipbones, we should speak honestly to the issue of obesity rather than using kinder, gentler marketing labels like “plus size,” “women’s” or “exclusive.”

MARIANNE CURTIS
Licensed Graduate Social Worker
Annapolis, Md.

If retail outlets marketed to larger sizes the way they do to smaller ones, they would undoubtedly see an increase in traffic and, therefore, sales. I am a size 20 and have limited outlets and choices when shopping for clothes. My limited choices were never so evident as this past year when I needed a formal gown for my daughter’s wedding. It was then that I discovered the world of online shopping. The floodgates opened, yielding a range of choices I had never experienced before. If these styles exist, why are retailers so reluctant to stock them? Why was I forced to choose from a picture, wait weeks to receive the items and then exchange them and go through the whole process again?

Women are fat for many reasons, none of which should preclude access to wearable, fashionable clothes in the same retail outlets as smaller women. The fashion industry should stop bemoaning the so-called difficulties of establishing a prototype and get on with business in a fair and evenhanded and, yes, profitable manner.

FRANCES MARTINEZ
Ossining, N.Y.

 What do you think of these readers’ reactions? Who do you agree/disagree with?

Crystal Renn who was recently ranked as #36 on the Top 50 models on Models.com is now featured on Style.com for her fall style picks! Her fall list includes a sweatshirt from Gareth Pugh, a silk blend jersey tank from Rick Owens, cat-eye glasses from Prada, and a Jean Paul Gaultier zip-up jacket.

Check out Crystal’s picks here!

What are your fall picks?

See the full list of celebrity picks on Style.com.

Marc Jacobs launched his newest men’s fragrance, BANG, in London at Harvey Nichols. In attendance at the cologne launch was our favorite rocker, Beth Ditto! Check out her saucy look!

Does Beth Ditto’s look make a BANG to you?

Crystal Renn addressed her fans today on the Today Show talking about her recent weight loss and her new exercise program. She says she has started an exercise routine after “seven years of being in recovery” from anorexia. While she has lost some weight, she says the pictures from the “Fashion for Passion” shoot by Nicholas Routzen were retouched so much that they made her size 10 frame appear as a size 2. She also said fashion industry bigwigs like Karl Lagerfeld, Carine Roitfeld, and Cindi Leive have told her not to lose weight.

You can see the video on Crystal Renn here.

Check out the video on NYMag and let us know what you think!

Why plus size modeling? What do you enjoy about it? What are you learning about the plus industry?

I started plus size modeling for two reasons.  First, I’ve always been a creative soul, having started in acting, moved to dancing and now modeling.  For me, modeling allows me to be a different character and tell a story, using the clothes, my eyes, body movement and facial expressions.  I actually find it more challenging than acting because we have less mechanisms to tell a story.  But that is also why I love it more.
Second, I wanted to be part of the movement that is helping women love their body, no matter if they are a size 2 or size 20. I know personally I’ve struggled throughout the years with accepting my body the way it is, having seen only skinny models being deemed as beautiful.  The more we infiltrate the media, the louder we are and the more lives we change.
I’ve learned plus modeling is ever changing! You have to stay on top of what is current and what is happening in the curvy world in order to stay part of it.

How are you practicing your modeling skills? Do you draw from any specific inspiration?

Because modeling is a creative outlet for me, I’m constantly doing TF shoots to practice being in front of the camera and experiment with new characters.  I draw inspiration from several plus models – Crystal Renn, Fluvia Lacerda, Nicole Lebris, Kate Dillon, Tara Lynn and the list goes on. I always love seeing their new work as it inspires me to keep pressing forward because I want to be where they are one day.  I also draw inspiration from my family and best friend Javonne.  They are more then supportive of my dreams and seeing the pride in their faces with each of my little successes drives me everyday.

When your not modeling, what do you keep busy with?

I love working out. I think it’s important to be healthy and take care of your body, at any size, so you can be around for a long time. I also love volunteering with animal and human rights organizations, and traveling. Having spent part of my childhood overseas in England and Germany, I caught the travel bug at an early age!

What is your must have summer item? How do you define your style?

All I wear in the summer are light, cute dresses.  I don’t think I even wear pants from June-August!
As far as my style, it’s really all over the place!  It depends on my mood, but one day I may wear skinny jeans with a tank top and necklace, another day I’ll wear a sexy little dress.  I will say Beyonce is my idol, in about everything in life, so I tend to be inspired by her when it comes to my fashion!

What does Madison Plus mean to you?

Madison Plus is where I go to find all the latest news and trends in the plus modeling world.  It’s a way for me to stay current and I especially love reading the interviews/articles about other plus models.

Finish The Sentence:

Always…fight for what you want until you can’t fight anymore.

Never…say never because you could be the one that changes everything.

To work with Kamari please contact her modeling agencies Brigitte Models, and Reinhard Models.

Do you want to be our next Fresh Face Model? If so, email us your professional photos to info@madisonplus.com