All it took was a single sketch—of a long-sleeved, sweetheart-necked LBD—to get shoppers excited about Eloquii‘s latest designer collaboration, with none other than Jason Wu.
“We didn’t show anything, and people were going crazy,” Wu says. “I mean, I expected that people would be happy about it, but the over-the-top excitement has been so encouraging… It’s great to feel appreciated for your designs and to have a community that really embraces what you do.” Wu came into Eloquii through a personal connection—one of his close friends is a part owner of the company. “When they asked me, I just felt like, Why not? It was a great opportunity,” he says.
The designer has sold pieces on the luxury retailer 11 Honoré, but Wu had never created a full plus-sized collection. And that was a draw for Eloquii: “It’s interesting to see them—like even first meeting Jason, wondering why he hadn’t and what his hang-ups were about it… It’s great to see that evolution from somebody thinking, ‘Oh, you know, I’ve wanted to do this, I just was afraid to do it because I didn’t know how,’ and then seeing how relatively easy it is and how wonderful the results in terms of how the customer feels about it,” Jodi Arnold, the retailer’s creative director, explains. “We’re interested in anyone who wants to give this customer more options—and especially someone at this designer level.. We have a polished and feminine customer, and we love that that’s kind of what [Jason Wu] does as well.”
“This is something that really opens up new avenues for me, and it’s something that I’ve learned a lot from in these few months of working on this collection,” Wu says. It went beyond learning the intricacies of fit, and touching on what plus-sized shoppers want: “In that way, it was effortless because that’s also my goal, to make women look amazing.”
Eloquii x Jason Wu is timed to the holidays, which means plenty of party dressing options—from sequined dresses (“we know our customer always loves sequins—anything that’s really blingy,” notes Arnold) to tuxedo suiting, all available in sizes 14 to 28. “I wanted [the collection] to exude glamour, sophistication, and femininity,” Wu explains. According to Arnold, the designer came to Eloquii with a specific image as inspiration: the June 2011 issue of Vogue Italia featuring Tara Lynn, Robyn Lawley, and Candice Huffine—the first time the magazine features plus-sized models on its cover. She notes that the team “[has] always found that [the customer” really is starved for occasion dressing—we realized this a couple of years ago when we started a black tie collection,” so this partnership helps fill that void. Of the sweetheart necklines and formfitting dresses seen throughout the capsule, Wu says: “I wanted a collection that enhances, not hides [the body.] That’s really what the hallmark of Jason is about, in any size.”
Finally, after much hype and anticipation, you can see—and shop!—every single look from the collaboration today. Click through for all the holiday dressing you could ever want or need, courtesy of Eloquii x Jason Wu.
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