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Three months after its announcement, the long-awaited Jason Wu x Eloquii collection is finally here. And in a fun twist, Jason Wu whipped up his self-described affinity for glamor into a holiday collection of separates and dresses, available in sizes 14 to 28, just in time for the season.
Eloquii, a leader in the plus-size community, is no stranger to acting as an accessible platform, a testing ground if you will, for designers to evolve into plus-sizing. Most recently they released an ongoing partnership with Reese's Witherspoon's brand, Draper James, an exclusive collection designed by Teresa Maccapani Missoni, and tapped plus-size blogger Katie Sturino. But this marks the first time they've taken on a luxury designer of this scope. When asked about the most essential design elements he wanted to carry over from his namesake collection into the Eloquii collab, Wu tells us, "I think there’s inherent femininity, refinement, sophistication, and glamor. All of those boxes need to be ticked for a Jason Wu collection. So I designed it like every other one of my collections. It had to have all of our DNA." Similarly, the campaign, featuring model and body positive activist, Paloma Elsesser, carries that same Jason Wu DNA. Wu continues, "When you look at the lookbook images, there’s such an elevation to the photography, the styling, everything. It wasn’t watered down...it got just as much love and attention as all my other collections. The Eloquii team really did a great job of translating my vision. We really treated it like was a luxury collection."
However, this isn't Wu's first time designing for plus-size women. Earlier this year, he launched a limited extension of his namesake label with plus-size e-tailer 11 Honoré. But using an accessible platform like Eloquii opens Wu up to an entirely new audience. Wu shares, "I've never designed for the plus community in this way before...I think it’s really great that I can be able to expand my appeal.” The other notable way he's expanding into a new audience is in the cost. Prices for the entire collection runs from $110 to $260, a stark contrast to the four-digit price tags found in his regular collections. Granted, most of us will recall that the last time Wu's designs have been available for so low was his highly successful Target collaboration launched back in 2012.
Wu has a long list of devoted A-list clientele including the former FLOTUS (whose inauguration gown launched Wu to a household name), and red-carpet celebs like Diane Kruger and yes, Meghan Markle. Wu explains, "Because we dress a lot of public women, a lot of women look up to the brand and what we offer. It’s great to be able to dress everyday women in the same way as we dress celebrities.”
This launch comes hot off the tails of Walmart's recent acquisition of Eloquii. If we had any qualms about the direction of the trend-driven retailer, rest assured for now. The Jason Wu x Eloquii collection will be ongoing for at least another season with a spring drop coming in March 2019.
Shop the entire Jason Wu x Eloquii collection ahead.
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