Actress Rebel Wilson launches plus-size clothes

NEW YORK • Actress Rebel Wilson knows how to look good on red carpet events and film premieres.

Now, the 37-year-old Australian is transferring that knowledge from working with stylists to plus-size women to an independent collection of clothes that will be rolled out this month, both online and in stores.

Her Rebel Wilson X Angels items, targeting women's sizes 14 and beyond, are priced from US$49 (S$67) to US$298.

"I've learnt so much about fashion being an actress... and having people really interested in what I wore.

"So, this line is me giving back and showing things that I've had made for myself or things you can't normally buy and me giving those to the plus-size women out there in America," she told the Mic portal.

"I found that people would see me on The Ellen (DeGeneres) Show and be like, 'Where did you get that from?' and usually it was just custom-made and they wouldn't be able to get it. Now I can say, 'Here's where you can find it'," Hollywood Reporter also cited her as saying.

Wilson herself observed: "I'm actually the average American size which is now, according to the Fashion Institute's study, 16 to 18. That is the main size of America and yet there's not that much choice."

Actress Rebel Wilson at the launch party of her Rebel Wilson X Angels collection. PHOTO: REBEL WILSON/ INSTAGRAM

This is not her first foray in designing clothes for the plus-size market, having previously teamed up with United States women's clothing chain Torrid.

In her new collection, Wilson, true to her Rebel name, overturns conventional wisdom that bigger-size women should steer away from wearing clothes with horizontal lines and loud colours.

But, above all, the star of movies like Bridesmaids (2011) and Pitch Perfect (2012) wants comfort.

"Our denims have got this Lycra Beauty technology in most of the jeans and they're so stretchy. You can do the splits, if you wanted to.

"A lot of people say I have a lot of confidence so, hopefully, some of it rubs off on you when you wear these outfits," she said.

Wilson, who recently won a defamation case over magazine stories that she claimed had dented her career, is set to shoot comedy Isn't It Romantic that also stars Liam Hemsworth.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 20, 2017, with the headline Actress Rebel Wilson launches plus-size clothes. Subscribe