A Chat with Beyoncé's Mom About Her New Walmart Clothing Line, Miss Tina
By Tracey Lomrantz, Glamour magazine
Chances are, you've been admiring the work of Tina Knowles--AKA "Miss Tina," AKA Beyoncé's mother--for years without even knowing it. She was the designer behind all of those matching costumes worn by Destiny's Child, and she still makes one-of-a-kind pieces for her famous daughters in her House of Dereon studio. But starting this weekend, you can get your hands on her made-for-everywoman stuff on the super-cheap at Walmart!
Miss Tina by Tina Knowles will hit the mega-retailer this weekend, and it's about as amazingly democratic as fashion gets--it was designed to flatter women of all body types and all ages, and everything is $20 and under! Miss Tina gave us a call yesterday to chat about the new line, and here's what she had to say.
STF: How did a collaboration with Walmart come about? After designing for House of Dereon, Dereon, and HSN, what made you decide to go so mass
Miss Tina: I actually wanted to reach a wide audience of women and of course Walmart has 3700 locations. I wanted to put it in a place where people go and buy it--a brick and mortar place that people could actually go and buy the line, as opposed to say HSN, which is a more limited audience. And because of the volume of sales they do, they're able to do it at a great price.
STF: What's the inspiration behind the line?
Miss Tina: Well, what also attracted me to Walmart was that they were open to having extended sizes. We extended the sizes up to 20, with the hopes of continuing up a couple of sizes in the future. That was really important to me because the average woman in America is not a 4 or 6. I had a lot of frustration finding clothes that fit me up top. Sometimes I'd get a 12 and it wouldn't fit up top, so the line was really born from a frustration about me not being able to find things that fit.
STF: One of the first things I noticed about the line is how sexy it is! Especially for plus size clothing, and I think that's something a lot of women will appreciate, right?
Miss Tina: Oh, I've heard complaints from women all over the country that plus size clothes arent sexy enough. You know, I'm a grandma but I don't want to look like a grandma! I want to feel confident and sexy in the clothes, I like my stuff tapered and well-fitted not all boxy.
STF: So how do you actually make sure the fit is flattering on everyone?
Miss Tina: I don't just use normal fit models. For me, thats not every woman. I'm one of the fit models myself.
STF: Really?! How hands-on of you!
Miss Tina: Yes I really am involved in every aspect. These are clothes that I want to wear. But really it's clothes that we have really concentrated on making you look slimmer.
STF: Did you consult with your daughters while you were designing? What kind of input did they give you?
Miss Tina: I showed my daughters the line early on, and they gave me suggestions. They suggested that I put a couple of things in there that were a little younger, and so I think it appeals to a lot of different age groups. I couldn't wear a lot of the things that my daughters wear, but sometimes we shop for the same tops, which is fun.
STF: Do you still design stuff for Beyonce and Solange?
Miss Tina: We're always creating something in the office--yeah, we make outfits for them for performances or certain events. That's something I hope that I get to keep doing always!
STF: Are there any design tricks or influences you took from House of Dereon or your other labels with you here?
Miss Tina: Yes, I put darts in my jeans just like we did with House of Dereon--it gives them a really nice fit. Because there is nothing worse than when you can see someone's underwear hanging out of their jeans! It's called under-wear! So we were careful about the fit on those, and making them a nice dark wash with no crazy embellishments or big old stitching.
STF: Will this be an ongoing collaboration with Walmart? Can we expect to see more collections?
Miss Tina: It's an ongoing collaboration. Our next season is spring and I'm even more excited about it! I'm really excited about going out on Saturday and visiting the stores and talking to women who buy it. My motto is "I'm every woman!" and I believe that's who will buy these clothes!
Miss Tina by Tina Knowles hits Walmart stores this weekend--will you check it out? Discuss!
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Photo Credit: walmart.com
