It comes in sizes 12 to 30—and prices cap out at $89.
This New Line Has the Coolest Plus-Size Clothes You've Ever Seen
You may not have heard the word "Premme" yet, but prepare to see it pop up all over your social feeds because it's the name of Nicolette Mason and Gabi Gregg's new plus-size clothing brand—which, surprise, launches tomorrow.
Premme is a mash-up of the words premiere, premium, feminist, and femme. Which makes sense given that the inaugural collection consists of girlish statement pieces (like asymmetrical bodysuits, pearl-studded sweats, thigh-slit pants, and cutout dresses and jumpsuits) in sizes 12 to 30. "It's a very feminine line," says Gregg. Oh, and there's phrases like Feminist AF patched on to jackets and tees because, "feminism is what brought us together as friends, and what we have always pushed in terms of our personal and brand values," Mason explains.
Prices range from just $30 to $89 to ensure the clothes are accessible to a wide range of customers. So before (or after—this will sell fast!) you head to Premme's website and shop the first drop, hear what Mason and Gregg have to say about their design debut.
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Glamour: How did Premme come about? Gabi Gregg: We started talking about it three years ago. Nicolette Mason: We’ve worked with so many brands, but there have always been limitations in terms of how far they can take our creative direction. They have their own brand and customer to keep in mind, and more than that, they have their perception of what a plus-size customer wants. And so there’s only been so much that we could do, and so much that we could influence in those spaces. We’re really, really proud of the work that we’ve done in the industry, but we knew that in order to 100-percent create the mission that we want for fashion for plus-size people, we had to do it ourselves.
Glamour: What was the biggest challenge in having things like those brought to life? Nicolette: Honestly, a big part of it was finding the right partners, finding the right manufacturer. We needed people who understood plus-size fit. Gabi: And who trusted us! A lot of potential partners would want to put their insight into the pieces, but Instaco [their collaborator] has been really great about letting us have full creative control—and we trust them on manufacturing.
Glamour: What else did you have to overcome to get the product that you wanted? Gabi: The design process was the biggest challenge, in my mind. It's hard to fit for plus, which is why I think a lot of designers haven't gone there yet—because they’re scared. We don't want everything to be stretchy and have the visible, scrunchy-scrunch elastic because it's just not a good look. But I think you can have stretch in different pieces so it can fit different body types. But we didn't want it to look like that cheap, elastic fit that everyone does. Nicolette: And there were also a couple of pieces that we were really, really excited about, and no matter what we did with the construction, trying to change the fit, they just didn’t come out right and we had to cut them.
Glamour: Why did you decide to lean into über feminine pieces? Nicolette: Well, we eventually want to do more androgynous styles and speak to our gender nonconforming plus-size siblings, but this speaks to who we are. Gabi: As plus-size women, we think that clothing is political, and the things we aren’t offered have to do with our size. We tried to bring feminism into our brand.
Glamour: What design elements did you incorporate into the collection precisely because you couldn't find them elsewhere? Nicolette: We wanted statement things like cutouts and fun embellishments—those are the things that, when we’ve partnered with other brands, they’ve said, "No, she doesn’t want that. It's too risky. She's not confident enough for that. She needs to cover up her arms." We know that that’s not true. We know because we are our customer. Gabi: And I think we're also going for a woman who's not the junior customer. I think you do find things like cutouts and embellishments in younger lines, but we'e really making this for women like us: in their twenties and thirties who don't want to be shopping at fast-fashion places.
Glamour: Any other details you're especially proud of in these pieces? Gabi: We had a birds-of-paradise-inspired print custom made [for the bomber and skirt]. Nicolette: It's by Martha Moore Potter, a textile designer who [also] has a jewelry line. That's something we want to do for each delivery: collaborate with other female makers.
Glamour: What are your personal favorite pieces from the first collection? Gabi: The pearl sweats set! Nicolette: I love the jacket. The [lavender slit] pants are great too.
Glamour: Looking at the bigger picture, what is Premme trying to fix in the market? Gabi: I was sick of the rules, so Premme is all about rule-breaking. A lot of brands say they are too, but to be honest, they say that because they know it's a cool slogan—you look at the clothes and they're boring. We wanted the clothes to speak for themselves. We really wanted the clothes to actually break the rules. We have an oversize mesh dress that's not fitted to the body, you know? We don't want to be constricted by the idea that you have to wear a wrap dress or skinny jeans or— Nicolette: That you have to be quote-unquote figure-flattering—not everything needs to look like you have an hourglass shape.
Glamour: I hear that! Any parting words? Gabi: I always say that there are cute things in the plus-size world— Nicolette: We shop them! Gabi: —but it shouldn't be this difficult to find them. You shouldn't have to be a style expert to look fashionable. You should be able to have a place to go where everything is great, and that's what we really want to be.
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This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Condé Nast
