This Badass Designer Only Shows Clothes on Plus-Size Models of Color

Clothing, Dress, Sleeve, Shoulder, Joint, Standing, Formal wear, Style, Pattern, One-piece garment,

(Image credit: Courtesy of Rum + Coke)

published 6 January 2015

Unlike certain clothing brands that have made headlines for Photoshopping thigh gaps onto their models so wide you could toss Frisbees through them, designer Courtney Smith hires real, live, plus-size women of color to wear her clothes—and only real, live, plus-size women of color.

The 25-year-old founder of Rum + Coke said that although she designs for sizes ranging from 2 to 3X, she features " women who look like me" because they're underrepresented in fashion campaigns.

"I've seen how there's a lack of plus-size women of color in advertising," Smith says in an interview with People. "We're such a big population that I would think someone would notice us."

One thing every R+C woman has in common, no matter what the number on her dress says? Self-assurance. "I'm designing for women who are confident, who are sure of themselves, who are empowered, and I think that doesn't have a size tag," she explains. "There's not one size or color or weight limit on confidence."

Amen to that. Now if only we could get the rest of the industry to follow suit.

You should also check out:

8 Gorgeous Photos of Models Who Hope to Change How the World Sees Beauty (NSFW)

A Plus-Size Blogger Asked 21 International Photoshop Experts to "Make Her Beautiful," and These Are the Results

15 Stunning Images Capture How Beauty Comes In All Different Sizes

Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.

Stay In The Know