I had the pleasure of viewing the plus size collection of aspiring designer and Parsons School of Design fashion major, Alyssa Roberti on Friday, May 14, 2010. The fashion show event was held at Re/Dress, an amazing plus size vintage and resale store in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. The turnout was a nice small group of 20 or so people, which included Gwen DeVoe, creator of Full Figured Fashion Week.

Alyssa, who is just finishing up her junior year as an Integrated Design Curriculum (IDC) major, is pushing the envelope at Parsons. She started out as a BFA (Fashion Design) major. However, she noticed that her professors were always pushing students to design clothing for a smaller size. Alyssa questioned this by designing a plus size piece, which she showed her professor. The professor’s response was that it was a waste of time. However, Alyssa was determined to continue with plus size design. She realized that a change was needed and that was her “epiphany” moment. So she changed her major to IDC, which still enables her to focus on fashion while having the freedom to create her own curriculum. She has been dedicated to plus size design ever since.

During the Q& A session after the fashion show, Alyssa told the group of an experience she had in pattern making class in the beginning of her studies at Parsons.  She noticed that there were size 12 patterns available so she asked her professor if she could use them for class. Her professor tried to dissuade her but Alyssa stood her ground. In the end, Alyssa proved her wrong.  She has gotten a great response from her peers at Parsons and she hopes to open the door for others who would like to focus on plus size design.

Alyssa is inspired by the art of Cecily Brown, who combines figuration & abstraction with themes of sexuality and attraction.  Cecily’s work contains lots of colors which she shows with a brush stroke technique. Alyssa tried to infuse that in her plus size design aesthetic by painting on clothing with the same type of brush stroke technique and use of many colors. She likes the idea of creating wearable art. She initially did the painting by hand with brushes until a professor suggested she use silk art, which is easier to use.

Marcy and Alyssa Roberti

Deb Malkin and Gwen DeVoe

Marcy with Leslie Medik (Re/Dress employee)

In terms of what Alyssa favors in design, she prefers a refined creative element.  She loves fashion from the 1920’s era. Her favorite plus designers are Monif C and Ashley Stewart. Alyssa loves the convertibleness of Monif C.’s clothing, especially the Marilyn dress. She stated that she loves how Monif C.’s clothing is classic and sophisticated. With Ashley Stewart, Alyssa feels that she has great up and coming designs. Her constant two favorite designers outside of the plus size design world are Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson because of their styles and colors.

Alyssa’s fashion showing at the event consisted of 4 pieces, one of which she wore herself. Her color scheme was a mixture of plum, cream, gold and silver metallic, and blues. The first piece was a long length cream colored dress with a plum velvet neckline, which to me, was a homage to the 20’s era that she loves so much. The dress had a detachable necklace that really went well against the plum velvet neckline. The back of the dress had a “surprise” element. It was that same plum velvet fabric and was draped so that part of the model’s back was exposed.

Alyssa with models in her designs

The second piece was a 2-piece top and pant outfit. The top was beautifully hand painted in a brush stroke fashion by Alyssa in purple, teal, and lilac. The pants were silver metallic stretch “liquid” leggings. The third piece was a knee length dress with the top part of it hand painted as well. Alyssa also knit a type of sash in a plum color that was attached to the dress and layered over part of the top hand painted area. The skirt part was the same cream color as the floor length dress.

The final piece, worn by Alyssa, was a beautiful gold top with velvet sides and a red velvet skirt that had a faux wrap style to it. The draping of the skirt was very beautiful. Out of all the pieces, this one is my favorite because of the colors and the fabric. It looked very flattering and classic. It is an outfit that can be the perfect day to evening piece.

I was very impressed with the pieces shown and am very excited to see what Alyssa will design next. Her plans, as she enters her senior year at Parsons, are to continue plus size design from a sportswear aspect and in the future, she would like to expand to runway plus size couture fashion.

Overall, Alyssa received a very positive response to her pieces and have left us wanting to see more. She was extremely inspiring and great to talk to.  She really encompasses everything a successful fashion designer should be: staying true to herself and what she believes in despite the pushback she experienced. Her determined attitude and great talent will definitely take the plus size fashion world by storm. – Marcy

Tara also stopped by to visit Madison Plus that day!

I had the best shopping experience going to visit the plus size vintage expert herself – Deb at Re/Dress. It was the FIRST time I was ever able to shop vintage, consignment…etc. I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which is a resale mecca with Buffalo Exchange, 12ft Single, Monk, Beacon’s Closet and that is just a few. I have shopped them all and have found very little as a plus size woman. As you can imagine with past experiences hanging over my head I was hesitant that I would find anything at Re/Dress.

I was wrong! So very wrong.

I was not alone on this vintage shopping trip, my fabulous MP partner Erica, joined me and she could not hold herself back from picking out fabulous outfits for me to try on. Erica is an expert stylist and I was not about to say no when it comes to being the recipient of her skills.

Erica immediately grabbed an early 80’s-style fuchsia dress, and I have to admit that I was a little afraid of the puffy sleeves, but was proved wrong when I put it on, the dress was fabulous and highlighted my waist perfectly and the puffy sleeves just made my waist look smaller. As an apple-shaped girl, I cannot say no to this!

My all-time favorite of the day was a poke-a-dot strapless dress, it had just arrived the day before and it left with me! I never would think such a dress would fit me, thanks to a little smocking on the back of the dress it zipped right up.

Also tried on a fabulous green ruffle hem dress, it was a little too tight for me, so if any of you girls are between a size 12/14 it is waiting for you to take it home.

When your wanting a little something special for your closet, something that you know no one else will have, be sure to pay a visit to Re/Dress. Deb has a fabulous eye for the must have items!

Visit Re/Dress at 109 Boerum Place, Brooklyn, NY. More information www.redressnyc.com.

Images by Erica Young.

We are happy to have today a post by MP friend and fellow entrepreneur, Sahar Parirokh. Sahar owns Freedom Star which is a multi-pronged company that sells accessories, offers consulting for small business owners, and mentorship programs for students. Check out her full site at FreedomStarOnline.com.

Sahar visited the very hip boutique Re/Dress NYC exclusively for Madison Plus! Check out her blog below and let us know what you think of this hip boutique!

Re/Dress NYC vintage and resale boutique in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn offers voluptuous women in New York a one-stop-shop for vintage and confidence. Owner, Deb Malkin, celebrated its one-year anniversary in November.  When I sat down with her this week she shared, “even in a soft economy, Re/Dress NYC has been doing remarkably well.”

It’s really no surprise, Deb’s personal frustrations with fashion for plus size women is what spurred her to start Re/Dress NYC , and you can feel it throughout the racks. Before she occupied 109 Boerum, Deb organized seven Fat Girl Flea Markets. Today, Re/Dress NYC is the only boutique of its kind offering women sizes 14+ a one-of-a-kind option from vintage to resale from labels such as Torrid to “only the cute stuff” from Lane Bryant.  I was there just 15 minutes and left with three purses for around $40!  Deb says “you can style an entire Re/Dress NYC outfit for under $100—$50 if you take your time and look for the bargains!” She loves to dress her clients so they walk out feeling comfortable and confident, never pursuing a fashion agenda.

When you’re done shopping, you can throw on your new outfit for an in-store pic that will be displayed. Re/Dress NYC also has indie designer trunk shows and a holistic class with a health every size activist.

A visit to Re/Dress NYC will leave you feeling empowered in your wallet, closet, and heart.

109 Boerum Place, Brooklyn, NY 11201 
http://www.redressnyc.com/

Click here for more info on how to enter and good luck to everyone!