At this point, influencer clothing collaborations have become an expected part of the fashion industry. Sometimes, it feels like there’s a brand launching a new one every day. In theory, it’s a good premise — a way to combine the style and creativity of a popular creator and the fit knowledge and economies of scale of an existing company to create something new. In practice, however, it doesn’t always pan out so well: Oftentimes, it ends up being more of a curation or rubber-stamping of styles already in production, and feels more promotional than anything. When the influencers chosen for these collabs all look pretty much the same, it isn’t too surprising when the collections start to blend together, too.
Universal Standard is launching an actually unique, adaptive, truly collaborative collection today with Jordan Underwood (they/he), a fat liberation advocate, model, and artist. The five-style capsule wardrobe is a departure from the size-inclusive label’s usual offerings: The press release promised “the brand’s first-ever fully adaptable collection, deviating from the hyper-femme options popularly offered to the plus-size market.” This is a real gap in an already underserved size range, particularly when it comes to extended plus sizes (generally considered anything over a size 3x/24W).
“I’m so proud to say this process was a true collaboration, finding where my style meets the Universal Standard customer, who also lives a busy full life and needs clothes to support that,” Underwood tells Refinery29. “I was excited about implementing my first-hand experience as a customer into the making of a collection, and the design team and I worked closely from start to finish. We spent hours sourcing fabrics, reviewing potential silhouettes, brainstorming cool details and finishes, discussing colorways…no detail was ignored.”
Underwood was the first person to try on each sample during Universal Standard’s extensive fit process. “It was so important that the clothes fit in the way I envisioned,” they said. “I wanted the tank to have a bit of a crop; the pants to be a bit looser on the legs; the sweatshirt to feel a bit oversized — small adjustments that really made the collection feel like me.”
The multi-hyphenate shared more about how the collaboration came about and what they’re most excited about for this innovative androgynous fashion collection.
When did you first think about doing a clothing collab?
As a model and content creator, I have always used clothes to spread joy, encourage self-love, and express myself. I’m a long-time customer of Universal Standard, and have also worked with the team on social campaigns and modeled in their shoots over the years. I’ve always appreciated the brand’s commitment to the customer, to exceeding the community’s expectations for fashion. So, when Universal Standard approached me about collaborating on a capsule collection, I was beyond words.
While I love fashion and styling, designing my own collection that other people can actually shop — let alone a capsule in the world’s most inclusive size range — was never something I thought I would have the opportunity to do. It’s so rare that a brand recognizes, trusts, values, and celebrates its community in this way. It’s been so much fun collaborating with the Universal Standard team to put my passion for styling and aesthetics to work through a design medium that’s completely new to me! I hope that the joy that filled me through the creation of this collection is felt in the pieces.
What do you think is missing in the fashion industry today?
Access to quality, stylish, well-made, well-fitting plus-size clothing — access to clothing above a size 24, period. We make clothes to fit bodies, we don’t make bodies to fit clothes. That shouldn’t be a controversial statement. Universal Standard shares that same belief, which is why it’s the only brand on the market providing access to premium fashion that actually fits intentionally on every single size.
Jordan x US is designed to give shoppers choice: the choice of fit, the choice of styling, the choice of size. Customers deserve to walk into any store they love and find clothes they want to wear. That’s what we’re pushing for, and why collaborations like this are so vital — they allow all people to not only participate in fashion but make choices in how they participate.
Why Universal Standard for this collaboration?
As a person who has been, at my largest, over a size 30 and who believes deeply in fat liberation — that a person’s size is completely independent of their worth, that fatness is not a moral failing, and that people of all sizes are valuable and deserving of access, safety, and respect — it’s important to me to work with people who share those values and understand that, while we’re working together on a clothing line, this is not, and has never just been, about clothes.
What was the decision-making process for what pieces to include in this capsule?
When we had our first design meeting, I came with a handful of ideas, most of which ended up in the final collection! It was super important to me for the pieces to not only be a representation of my personal style but also be comfortable and functional, because, as a person with a very full and active life, those are the things that I most prioritize when I’m getting dressed every morning.
I’ve worn the pieces from the collection consistently since receiving the final samples. You can even scroll back through my Instagram and peep a couple of posts that caught me in the samples before the launch. Jordan x US was designed to blend my aesthetic and high standards for comfort with Universal Standard’s commitment to quality and fit, so the customer can confidently wear these everyday pieces again and again.
What fit changes did you make in the process, and how was adaptability factored in?
Something that came up a lot in the fit process was the leg size of the garments. It was important to me for the fit of the leg to be more oversized to accommodate folks with different body shapes and proportions. I have a lymphatic disorder called Lipedema that causes non-metabolic tissue to build up in the legs, so finding bottoms that fit me well and comfortably has always been difficult, ever since the onset of my disorder when I was around 13. That’s part of what made this collaboration so special for me: I finally felt like I could support the creation of a product made with bodies like mine in mind.
Though some brands offer plus sizes, many fail to recognize the diversity within the same size. Throughout the collaboration process, my eyes were opened to how obsessed with fit the Universal Standard team is. But with Jordan x US, we wanted to offer something beyond the clothes fitting perfectly — we wanted to make the collection as adaptable as possible, so customers can adjust the clothes to fit exactly the way they want.
Throughout my life, I’ve had to have a lot of my clothes altered because my body shape was different from the standard patterns other brands use to design their clothes. The biggest issue I’ve had with clothes, specifically because I have Lipedema, is with the waist-to-hip ratio, as well as with my leg circumference being larger than the size that would fit my hips and waist. Folks with Lipedema typically don’t have the same tissue build-up on the waist, causing a very significant waist-to-hip ratio. This often makes clothing shopping very difficult, and, in many cases, causes us to size out of clothing lines altogether. With Jordan x US, we’re serving as many people as we can with multi-functional styles that accommodate as many body shapes and sizes as possible. When designing this collection, we decided to have all of the pieces have a drawstring at the waist, allowing folks to size up to have the leg and hips of the pieces fit looser, but not fall down or necessitate tailoring.
How did you incorporate your personal style into this line?
When I get dressed in the morning, I weigh style, functionality, and comfort equally. I typically wear bright colors because they make me happy, and, obviously, I want pieces in my wardrobe that I can mix and match and wear a million times. I wanted to make elevated basics that are both fun as individual pieces, but also versatile, because that’s so often what I find lacking when I’m looking for clothes in my size.
It’s very rare to see a visibly plus-size person helming a clothing collaboration, let alone someone not presenting femme. What do you think this representation will mean for the community?
To be completely honest, while I do believe in the power of representation on an individual level, what I hope this collection offers people is resources for self-expression, whatever that means for them, and maybe a possibility model for folks to live authentically as whoever they are and however they choose to show up in the world. When I was a fat, queer kid, even more than representation, I needed access — access to clothes that were age-appropriate, to clothes that allowed me to explore my gender presentation, to clothes that fit me, that allowed me to be me.
Representation is limited. I’m one person, and I can’t represent everyone. I can only show up as myself, as authentically as I can, which is something that I strive to do every day. And I do hope that that inspires people to do the same. And I hope that, one day, these systems of oppression are dismantled and that we no longer have to beg for representation, because it’s just the reality that we all deserve to be seen and heard (and clothed).
Ultimately, my opportunity to do this collab was only possible because of the incredible work and advocacy of the fat, queer fashion icons who came before me. I hope that I’m making those people — many of whom I’m lucky to call my friends — proud.
Who do you envision wearing your collab?
Anyone and everyone who feels that these pieces can represent a little piece of who they are!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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