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Here’s a sentence my teenage self never thought she’d write: Lane Bryant is seriously killing the plus game. Besides an overall aesthetic shift from “stuff your mom wears” to “stuff you’d happily wear,” as well as a roster of groundbreaking designer collaborations — get ready for Christian Siriano 2.0 next week — the retailer is constantly keeping things fresh for the women who are so often overlooked by the fashion industry. And now, Lane Bryant has relaunched its edgier sister line 6th & Lane with the help of high-end designer Tess Giberson — and it's really F-ing good.
Two years ago, 6th & Lane was originally launched as a replacement for the Lane Collection. Filled with sleek designs, it leaned distinctively more office-appropriate than on-trend, but Giberson has assured us that the revamped version will have a much more modern feel. “The relaunched collection is targeted at a younger customer [and] it has a more youthful energy,” Giberson tells Refinery29. “The collection is designed with the intent to give the girl unique pieces she can easily make her own and seamlessly style into her wardrobe. My design approach has always spoken to an audience of strong and empowered women, which directly correlates to that of the 6th & Lane woman. I am also incorporating many of my signature details such as piecing, mixing raw with refined, deconstructing classics, detailed knitwear, and hand-drawn graphic tees. These are elements that make up my own style and worked naturally in creating the new line.”
Although Giberson kept her own style ideology, she kept Lane Bryant’s customer base top of mind. “The first collection was inspired by the spirit of [the] 6th & Lane woman herself — she is bold, daring, and effortlessly cool because she is unapologetically herself,” she explains. “I wanted to start with the basics of building the vocabulary in the collection: twists on staples, detailed denim, playful graphics, cool faux leather jackets, faux leather piecing, and deconstructed sweatshirts…items that are strong on their own but can work back and forth from season to season.”
Available online starting today, the new 6th & Lane collection will hit select stores on September 12. (Each month, a new mini capsule with a variety of designs will launch.) Pieces are priced from $24 to $149, so you'll likely want to stock your closet with them all year long. And besides a new designer at the helm, 6th & Lane will be expanding its size range come November, with a starting size of 10. Although “plus size” technically starts at a size 14, women who belong to the 8 to 12 “inbetweenie” set often feel ignored by the design world, as well, and Lane Bryant hopes to make them feel included.
Click through to see the new collection and lookbook (modeled by Barbie Ferreira and Lulu, two R29 faves!), and let us know what you think about 6th and Lane's new look.
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