The comedian reveals she isn't just making plus sizes, adding, 'I'm doing all sizes. It's a strange thing to stop at a certain size. Women don't, so why should clothes?'
- Nov 26, 2014
AceShowbiz - Melissa McCarthy is set to launch her as-yet-unnamed fashion line in fall 2015. Melissa has teamed up with Gerard Guez's Sunrise Brands to create the fashion line which includes accessories and beauty products for women. She will be assisted by her creative director Judy Swartz, fit specialist Daniela Kurrle and product coordinator Alexandria Longo.
In an interview with WWD, published on Tuesday, November 25, the "Mike & Molly" star opened up about her plan for the fashion line. "I'd been looking for two, three, maybe four years for manufacturers to help us do this line," she shared, "But after we met with Sunrise, we felt they were committed to changing the plus-size game."
Melissa referred to the designs she worked on as "more modern" than those which were available in stores for larger-size women. "I always said, 'Why can't I find great stuff?' And Sunrise was up for the challenge," she shared, "Sunrise isn't afraid to shake it up and bring plus-size up to fashion."
The "Samantha Who?" alum revealed she wasn't just making plus sizes. "I'm doing all sizes. It's a strange thing to stop at a certain size. Women don't, so why should clothes?" she explained.
Melissa said that over the course of her life, she'd been "every size on the planet. I have experience dressing me as a 6, a 12 and more. And when you go above a size 12, you don't lose your love of fashion."
Melissa said she was trained as a designer before becoming a comedian. "It's something I've done since grade school," she shared, "I'd lay on the floor, look through Vogue and cut out patterns. It was everything I ever wanted to do." She later changed her career path after meeting Brian Atwood. "He made me do stand-up, not finish college at FIT," she said.
When the 44-year-old comedian grew up, she wasn't much of a shopper. "I lived on a farm in Illinois and we didn't have a lot of money. But I lived vicariously through magazines. I was obsessed with Jean Paul Gaultier. I still have the scrapbooks and I've kept all my designs and sketches," she recalled. "I loved the playfulness of fashion. I think maybe that's why I became an actress. You put on one outfit and feel one way, and another one will make you feel another way. Clothes are a wonderful tool."
Melissa's new line will have prices range from $39 for knit tops to $118 for bottoms. It is expected to offer "classic, high-end detailing, better fits and technology-driven denim fit solutions."
