Lord & Taylor is rethinking how its customers shop, and its latest move is one that's body positive and inclusive. For the launch of Project Gravitas, the retailer will be merchandising straight- and plus-size clothing together, rather than separating the two and putting them in different parts of the store. The brand will be sold in Lord & Taylor’s New York and D.C. brick-and-mortar locations, with items ranging from size 0 to 24.
Project Gravitas CEO and founder Lisa Sun remembers needing to go to different departments than her friends when they would all go shopping, and it’s a feeling she doesn’t wish for any of her customers. In 2013, Project Gravitas launched, combining technology, apparel innovation, and smart design to create clothing that flatters a wide range of body types. This year, the company has taken it a step further, deciding to eliminate any plus-size designation from its language; instead, pieces are simply labeled “Gravitas sizing.” And by selling everything in one space within Lord & Taylor, the goal is to recreate what Sun refers to as a “confidence closet.”
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“We're thrilled to bring Project Gravitas to our customers,” Liz Rodbell, president of Lord & Taylor, tells Refinery29. “The brand sends an inspirational, empowering message and inspires women to have confidence. It’s a perfect example of what we stand for at Lord & Taylor.”
The 20-piece collection, titled Best of Gravitas, is a mix of the brand’s top-sellers and its latest workplace appropriate pieces; it will be priced from $175 to $275 and will serve as a way to introduce new customers to the label. “I launched my company based on my first piece of professional feedback — I needed to find gravitas to be successful, most specifically a wardrobe that made me feel like best self,” says Sun. “My goal every day is to give more women gravitas and support them so that they believe in themselves and feel gorgeous and confident.”
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