EXCLUSIVE: Lane Bryant Taps Tanesha Awasthi for First Influencer Product Collaboration

Lane Bryant is upping its influencer game.

The plus-size retailer has tapped blogger Tanesha Awasthi for its first-ever influencer product collaboration, to be released during New York Fashion Week. The line, a collaboration with Reunited Clothing, is a 20-piece assortment of dresses, sportswear separates, outerwear and denim designed to favor curves. Sizes range from 12 to 28 with pricing from $34.95 to $149.95.

Awasthi, who has more than 320,000 Instagram followers, is the founder of Girl With Curves, a popular fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog geared toward women ages 25 to 45. A University of California at Berkeley graduate, Awasthi launched Girl With Curves in 2011 while simultaneously working as an account manager for a network security company in Silicon Valley. In 2013, she quit her job in tech to run her web site full time. Girl With Curves now has more than 1.6 million subscribers.

“I had this idea in my mind when I was 12 years old that I was either going to be a fashion designer or I was going to move to New York right after high school and work at a magazine,” Awasthi said. “I’m an English major, I’m a writer at heart, but I’ve always loved fashion and I’m also a Pisces, so I’m super creative.”

The Girl With Curves x Lane Bryant collection is “classically feminine” and “polished but practical,” with reasonably priced options to go from work to weekend. The offerings were inspired by Awasthi’s readership and her Californian style — jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers.

Asked for her thoughts on the current plus-size market, Awasthi said, “For a long time, the curvy girl was left out of the conversation. I don’t think the world realized that all women, no matter what size, want to feel amazing, look amazing and we all care about some aspect of fashion.”

Girl With Curves x Lane Bryant will be available starting Sept. 9 in Lane Bryant stores and on lanebryant.com. Awasthi will also introduce the collection at a two-day New York pop-up at 393 Broadway starting Sept. 9.

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