Anna Scholz is unique. Her tall (6ft 1") figure (size 20) and blonde tresses aren't the only things which mark her out from the fashion crowd. German-born Anna is the only top name designer in the UK whose collections break down the size barriers by embracing women from size 8-26. That's right - clothes not just for 'larger ladies' but clothes which imbue a strong sense of glamour and feature fabulous tailoring, detailing and colour palettes which attract customers of all sizes from all over the world.
Like so many successful designers, Scholz is a born-again Londoner. When she moved to the city nine years ago to study at Central Saint Martins, she instantly found herself bitten by the buzz bug. "I find it tolerant and free in London," she says. "The mixture of races makes it a real melting pot. Germany is so conservative but here I can walk down the street looking stupid and no one cares." Scholz's own style fuses vampish glamour with a smatterings of Gothic kitsch. Her flat in Notting Hill has guilded ceilings, a red velvet bed and a huge chandelier. Fashion is a natural obsession for Scholz, who at 18 worked as an 'outsize' model and began designing because she found it difficult to find clothes she liked that fitted. At St Martin's she focused on designing in large sizes ("They thought I was mad. I had to cut my own patterns for everything,") and did her thesis on The Tyranny of Thinness. "I am appalled by the attitude of women to themselves," she admits. " For so long now larger women have been badly treated by the fashion industry. I want to change the clothes not the wearer. Lots of designers get carried away with designing what they want and don't think about the wearer."
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For Scholz, going in to a shop labelled 'large is lovely' has never had any appeal. But she is sceptical about how quickly the fashion industry will update itself and stop marginalising the majority of women. "I think it's going to take ages for things to change and for shops to stock larger sizes as a part of their fashion sections. There is racism, sexism and sizism and I have a non sizist philosophy."
Her new collection features purple and lavender pieces, beautiful felted wool coats, hour glass skirts and wool jersey dresses with feather embroidery. "I love loud Bohemian clothes," she confesses. "I like to make clothes that stimulate women to wear something different and help them to feel good about themselves." In the future, Anna would love to open her own emporium in Notting Hill and design homewares, shoes and jewellery. "I would love to do boots and shoes," she says. "I find it really difficult to find ones that fit. I also find it difficult to buy rings because my fingers are so big. I want to build a whole empire!"
With an average dress size of 14, the UK is in desperate need of a more enlightened approach to fashion. Anna Scholz is confident, talented and tenacious enough to make it happen.
Anna Scholz clothing priced £50-£700 is available across Europe and the US (stockists include Harrods and Selfridges in London, Jenners in Edinburgh, and Bloomingdales in New York and LA). For further information and details of your nearest stockist email Anna Scholz here.
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