There are so many false comments in this thread that I'd like to set straight as someone with a professional background in both plus and outdoor apparel. The average US woman is a size 14 (the overlap between straight and plus sizes), and ~45% are limited to plus only. Plus makes up a small part of the ski market currently, but you need plus size ski gear before you're going to get many plus size skiers. There are also several groups where the majority or even vast majority of members wear plus sizes, like ethnicity, age, and disability status. We love to claim that "the mountains don't care what color you are," but Black women skew more towards plus size (and before anyone comes for health / activity status, they tend to have healthy health markers at larger weights). It appeals both from a business case sense and a fairness and equity standpoint.
With that, technical / fit design work has 2 guiding principles:
1. Does it fit on the body.
2. Does it function on the body.
Point 1 is where plus sizes differs from other fit cases, like short and to some extent, tall sizes. There are no options on the market for: shell ski pants, shell ski jackets, softshell top or bottom, no ski or rain gear with high performance membranes (polartec, eVent, Gore Tex), midweight or heavyweight puffy coats, any down item over 650 fill down, any wide calf ski socks. I believe that men's short sizes need more options, but it is a very different situation compared to having 0 options that will even go on your body. I know a few women who have the time and resources to sew their own garments, and a few that ski in low quality gear by being extremely picky with their days, but the majority of plus size women I know who are interested in skiing are waiting for better gear. I've wanted to nominate them for some really cool pass & lesson scholarships in our area, but gear that can keep you dry in the PNW snow for 3-4 hours is a missing prerequisite.
Point 2 is where I'm not convinced about a company like MADE. For example, both rise options hit below the belly button, but every successful pant I've seen in the plus size space sits above the belly button, below the ribcage. Their AI can deduct their measurements from those 2 pictures, but it doesn't tell you that someone with an apron belly needs a waistband that fits above or below it because otherwise it has no chance of staying closed when they bend at the waist. This is where a lot of companies have failed with plus expansions. Like Kari Traa's attempt used all the right measurements, but didn't adapt the patterning for plus size bodies at all (particularly rise and waistband width). Comments about Burton's XXL & XXXL have similar issues with inadequate rise. Now, MADE might be different, but with 3 years of design experience on their entire team and 0 in plus (especially considering fashion students work on up to size 6 mannequins in fashion school), I'm skeptical.
Further:
- Plus should absolutely be financially viable for most ski companies. Eddie Bauer & LL Bean only hit about a billion in revenue per year and have been able to service small sectors of plus outerwear for years. OR and Trew are investing heavily with revenue of $57M & $9M, respectively. Eddie Bauer and LL Bean have offered some basic technical outdoor pieces to plus with $1-2B in revenue. Compare that to Patagonia ($1B), North Face ($12B), and Arc'teryx ($800M). Columbia was around $1-1.5B when they launched their plus collection.
- MADE is not much more expensive than Arc'teryx or Patagonia, but the quality doesn't compare. A 3L Polartec Neoshell jacket goes for $645 with a really basic built (basic full zip, velcro cuffs, no extra pockets or pit zips). That goes for $400-450 commercially, and commercial offerings has the potential to mark down (~$250-300). Arc'teryx uses more Gore / Gore Pro, which have higher membrane test performance, as well as more intricate patternwork that dramatically increases factory costs, but vastly improves how gear moves with the body.
- There's not that much of a difference between designing stretchy knits and structured wovens. There's a little more forgiveness from a measurement standpoint, but there's almost as many variables that can go wrong. Hence why Kari Traa doesn't have extended sizes in base layers despite seeming like an easier category.
Lastly, I wish the article acknowledged the sheer amount of unpaid work that has gone into contacting, convincing, and collaborating with brands on size extensions. I'm friends with a few of the women working on the OR, Gregory, and Trew plus runs, and an insane amount effort goes into getting brands to notice them, convincing them that they do hard enough things to need technical gear, and gear testing prototypes.
Tour de force. You could definitely get venture capital!
