More and more apparel brands are embracing plus-sized styles for women, but there’s one category that tends to go overlooked: plus-sized menswear. For Stephen Moss, a writer at The Guardian, now is the time for retailers to get behind the revolution.
Moss took a tour of online retailer Asos’ London headquarters to peruse the brand’s new plus-sized men’s collection, which now ranges up to 6XL.
Women’s plus-sized clothing has been a popular market for Asos in the past—the category accounts for 20 percent of Asos’s womenswear sales. So, it’s uncertain why it took this long to get the men’s collection on board.
In terms of what makes a plus-sized collection successful, Nick Eley, head of menswear design for Asos, said it has to offer buyers what is available to everyone, but make the cuts flattering for their different body shapes.
“It’s amazing how badly this market has been catered for in the past,” he said.
The hope is that plus-sized men’s clothing shifts from simply functional to fashionable, too. According to The Guardian, research suggests that one in five men want a broader range of sizes. This makes plus-sized menswear the perfect opportunity for anyone looking to fill a need in the apparel market.
For promotional suppliers and distributors, consider extending the size range offerings for your menswear, and you could capitalize on this growing need in the industry.
