Not only did she aspire to be a fashion designer in her younger years (she moved to New York in the 1980s to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology), but McCarthy – who has recently shed some pounds – has long had problems finding clothing she likes in her size.
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With Melissa McCarthy having launched her Seven7 line on the Home Shopping Network and many other retail locations, she can now reduce merchandise segregation which should help other stores follow suit.
McCarthy studied fashion before making it big as an actress, and now all her fashion schooling is coming in handy. “I just think, if you’re going to make women’s clothing, make women’s clothing”.
“Even starting with ‘Girlmore Girls, ‘ (I’d say to the costume designer, ) ‘Let’s rip the bottom off. Can I put different sleeves on it?”
Melissa McCarthy Seven7 sizes run from 4 through 28, and she is advocating for doing away with the “plus-size” label because, as she says, “Women come in all sizes”.
McCarthy told Refinery29: “I don’t like the segregated plus section”.
‘I also find it very bad business, ‘ she continued. Case in point: how thoughtful, insightful, and passionate she is about every aspect of her collection, including the industry term her line is classified as, “plus-size”. “You should be able to throw everything into a bag and you’re all set”, McCarthy says. “I asked five or six designers-very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people-and they all said no”.
So McCarthy is going to make it easy.
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Celebrity cobbler Brian Atwood is indirectly responsible for Melissa McCarthy’s career. “They didn’t interest me before, and I was really reluctant to go into so much denim stuff”, she says. The collection will continue rolling out through September 1 and also will be available at HSN, Belk, Bloomingdales, Von Maur, Lane Bryant, Pennington’s Canada, Evans UK and MelissaMcCarthy.com. “I get what the fuss is about”. “I love to get feedback – I believe in collaboration and I think you can always learn a lot from people that immerse themselves in it. Every season, all you can do is improve”. “That’s the big part of the fun for me, making clothes for all women”.
