Last November, New York & Co acquired plus-size retailer Fashion to Figure. On Thursday, we finally got our first look at the brand's revamp under its new parent company. And Danielle Brooks, the Emmy and Tony-nominated actress, is leading the charge as Fashion to Figure's first brand ambassador.
"They’re just coming back into the game, you know, and so, I think it’s going to be a crawl, walk, run situation,” Brooks tells Refinery29. “I’m very ready to run. I have my ideas and from the few months that I’ve been working with them thus far, I've been able to put in my input.” That input includes having a crew made up entirely of plus-sized women shoot Fashion to Figure’s holiday campaign.
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“I’ve never been on a photo shoot where the stylist was plus-sized,” Brooks says. “Normally, the stylist doesn’t even look like they own Spanx. It was so much fun to have someone who could pull up my Spanx and know I needed my love handles in that thing.” While she stressed that photo shoots can go well even when everyone isn’t plus-sized, being surrounded by other plus-size women was comforting and created a sense of camaraderie. She adds that, like the stylist, the photographer was able to understand why she would be uncomfortable with certain angles and was able to work with what made her feel her best.
“I’m thankful that Fashion to Figure listened to what I had to say and was able to incorporate that into their mission in making sure that all women feel included, not only in front of the camera with their models but also behind-the-scenes, like the crew,” she says.
Brooks also appreciates that Fashion to Figure gets it right when it comes to clothing — from the material to the trends to the prices, she's thrilled to be working with the retailer. “When I got to try on all the clothing, I got a little emotional,” she explains. “I kept thinking to myself, man, if only I had all of these options when I was a teenager, my confidence would have been through the roof if I could have worn some of these look my parents could have afforded.”
And that’s really what this ambassadorship is for Brooks. “I’m really excited for women but especially young girls to be able to feel confident when they go to a school event or go to that dance, maybe, going to a football game in really cool jeans. I’m excited for them because that’s something I didn’t have growing up.”