Plus Size models, designers to fire up the runway again under the ATCL collective

Latasha Ngwube's About That Curvy Life Collective (ATCL) is set for a second outing revealing Osuare, Nori Clothing and Assian by Matiu Idang as designers presenting this year. The collective set out to cater to the plus size modelling industry debuted at the 2016 LFDW and only recently at the Glitz Africa Fashion Week.

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ATCL seeks to promote body positivity and size inclusion on the runway; making obvious every woman has a right to want to feel beautiful, confident and stylish at whatever size. A brainchild of TV host/media personality Latasha Ngwube, ATCL is slowly giving a voice to the plus size industry which has gotten attention all over the world in recent times; “We are extremely proud of the historical success The About That Curvy Life Collective achieved in 2016. Launched at The Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2016, we made history as the first plus size fashion show on an international fashion runway in Africa.

This eventually led to our invitation to make history in Ghana by taking The Collective to the Glitz Africa Fashion Week 2017, Accra, Ghana" Ngwube shares.

Apart from also tapping into the profitable industry- studies revealed in 2016 Americans spent around $20.4 billion on plus size clothing- ATCL is set to position the plus size fashion industry as a hugely successful one in Nigeria.

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“When I look around at the women and men in my life, my parents, my siblings, my friends, I can’t help but imagine that a sizeable amount of that money can be attributed to sales from plus-size clothing.

What strikes me even more is the possibility, in light of the dearth of plus size brands in the country, which the majority of money spent on plus size clothes are on imported items. As the nation looks to curb imports and promote exports, and as Nigerian fashion brands, in the midst of increasing competition, struggle to create and communicate unique value propositions, plus size fashion merits serious consideration” Ngwube shares about making the industry a profitable one.

About That Curvy Life is set to debut Abuja based NORI by Uga Akinbode and Lagos based Osuare by Osuare Egbuonu with Assian by Matiu Idang also making a comeback on the runway via the collective.

Osuare is an eponymous brand, a cosmopolitan African women's wear brand that caters to the needs of women of all shapes and sizes. Osuare Egbuonu specialises in the use of hand-painted and hand-dyed prints. Her pieces are edgy, reflecting originality and heritage.

Nori Clothing owned by Uga Akinbode is an Abuja based woman clothing brand known for ready to wear and bespoke pieces.

Assian is a contemporary plus size fashion and lifestyle brand by Matiu Idang who is the creative head. The brand is one that "strongly believes in being size inclusive and operates based on the belief that “we all matter“.