“It is bolder and brazen and destroyed and destructed and acid washed and embellished, and really speaks to what’s happening with plus-size women. One thing he knows for sure is that Ashley Stewart customers like their fashion denim. “You and I know that when we see the runways, they’re not trends until they hit the streets,” he said.īoston said he’s loving the fact that he can look around at what Ashley Stewart’s done to create their own trends, as well as redefine some of their classics, and put those things out ahead of market.

Oftentimes, when you’re too close to something, you just don’t see the beauty of it, you’re just moving on to the next trend,” he said. I’m just looking at this collection and saying, ‘Why aren’t we talking about this coat more?’ ‘This is a pant that we should be doing every season.’ It’s when you find the diamonds in the rough. “Someone who’s worked as a fashion editor and comes in and really homes in on what women hopefully will be drawn to. All the stuff I’ve been doing on TV for years,” he said.īoston said what the brand needs is bigger amplification. The salespeople know the customers by first name, they’re in the dressing room and almost having these little parties, where they’re trying things on and high-fiving and giving each other style tips. When you walk into the Ashley stores, it’s like you’re almost walking into a club. “I love the fact that this brand is very unique in that the audience has been underserved for years and found a special place at Ashley. “We had a huge Woman division as they called it helping on the inside and connecting to women of all sizes,” said Boston.īoston said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to work in the plus-size arena. Earlier in his career, Boston worked in the plus-size space at Jones New York and was the face of the brand for seven years. In his creative role, Boston won’t be designing the collection, but will be working with the design team. I wanted to be somewhere that just made sense, and this really makes sense,” said Boston. I did not want to be at just another sausage factory of a fashion house. Boston said he heard that Sheinbaum was pivoting after 25 years to Ashley Stewart and told him that he was looking to do a reentry after 20 years under his own shingle. “Gary and I go way back to the Tommy days back in the ’90s,” said Boston, recalling his days as vice president, art director at Hilfiger. In an interview, Boston, 50, said the job came about organically. Today, Ashley Stewart is owned by Monroe Capital, a Chicago-based asset management firm. The plus-size brand has made a comeback after filing for bankruptcy in 20.

Cannes Film Festival 2023: Live Updates of All the Looks From Red Carpets, Arrivals and Photocallsįounded in 1991, Ashley Stewart has 83 stores across the U.S.

Men of Color by Lloyd Boston