Fashion To Figure
| Privately held | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder |
Michael Kaplan Nicholas Kaplan |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
Number of locations | 26 (as of 2016) |
Key people |
Michael Kaplan, CEO Nicholas Kaplan, COO Frances Freixas, Chief Merchant |
| Products | Plus-size clothing, related accessories |
| Website |
www |
Fashion To Figure is a United States retailer focusing exclusively on women's plus-size clothing and related accessories. The store caters exclusively to women and teenagers sized 12 to 26.[1] The chain is named for a quote by Lena Bryant, founder of the plus-sized women's clothing chain Lane Bryant.[2] Asked in 1950 by a Glamour magazine interviewer about the secret to her success, Bryant responded, "You should never ask women to conform their figures to fashion, but rather bring fashion to the figure."[2][3]
Fashion To Figure was co-founded by brothers Michael and Nicholas Kaplan, two of Lena Bryant's great-grandsons.[2] The Kaplans' father, Steven, had been president of Lane Bryant until its sale to The Limited Inc. in 1982.[4] Previously, Nicholas Kaplan had served as a Saks Fifth Avenue department manager and buyer, general merchandise manager at Bluefly, and co-founder of the Designer Warehouse liquidation chain.[1][4] Michael Kaplan had served as an analyst at Lazard and had previously co-founded an online shopping community for plus-sized women with RRE Ventures.[1] Having grown up hearing stories about how their widowed great-grandmother supported herself by selling the first maternity and full-figure dresses available to American women, Michael and Nicholas Kaplan have explained in interviews that they were drawn to the opportunity to carry on their family's tradition.[5] The brothers took as the company's mission "to make people's lives better through the ultimate full-fashion experience."[6]
Unlike most other plus-sized specialty retailers, Fashion To Figure is not a vertically integrated retailer.[7] With an eye to providing consumers with a wide array of full-fashion options, the company sources its inventory from more than one hundred vendors.[3] The company's CEO, Michael Kaplan, has argued that this allows the company to provide plus-sized consumers with more choices and to react more nimbly to fashion trends, à la fast fashion.[7] Shoppers depend upon the assistance of sales associates, known as "stylists," to select the best colors and cuts for their individual needs.[3]
The first Fashion To Figure store opened at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, New York in October 2004.[2] The second store opened in 2005 at the Livingston Mall in Livingston, New Jersey.[3] By 2011, Fashion To Figure had seven locations in New York and New Jersey. Two additional stores were slated to open in fall 2011. The company launched its online store in 2010, which serves an international customer base.
References
- 1 2 3 "Lena Bryant Descendants Continue Family Tradition". Women's Wear Daily. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 "Perfection's Price". Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 "Plus Size Retailer Looks to Open Westchester Stores". The Journal News Rockland. 17 January 2007.
- 1 2 "Planning Their Big Plus: Lane Bryant Kin Building Business by the Book". The Bergen County Record. 8 September 2006.
- ↑ "Inheriting the Girth: Plus-Sized Store Inspired by 'Gram'". The Bergen County Record. 21 December 2004.
- ↑ "Fashion To Figure: About Us". Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- 1 2 "In Family Tradition, Lena Bryant's Descendants Launch Plus-Sized Concept". Chain Store Age. 5 October 2005.