Orange IS The New Black , Dascha Polanco in an interview with Vogue, Dascha who plays Daya in OITNB, she speaks on designers refusing to dress her because of her size.
“It’s funny that a lot of the brands are dressing people who are not offering anything as far as talent, they’re just out there,” she says. “I understand that it’s business, but still, it’s like, really? My industry friends, who are clear and honest with me say, “Girl, they don’t have your size, and you’re not at that level yet, so you have to either move that way or just build those relationships so that later in the future maybe it happens.”
“I had a situation with a high-end brand the other day where I had personally invested so much money purchasing their items, and I love what they do, so I had my publicist reach out to their PR team. Their response was, “Oh, you’re not the sizes we have, not right now, maybe in the future.”Now even if they want me to [wear their designs] down the road, I will not give them the pleasure. It’s disappointing, but I try to work with up-and-coming designers who will make things for me and who will collaborate with me. People who love my curves and embrace them as much as I do.”
Explaining that she’s on a mission to prove that style is not defined by size, Dascha said, “I want to break that barrier. Even though I’m a size 8 or 10, I still can look as great as someone who’s a size 0. This is why I work out; I’m making sure my body looks how I want it to look, so that I’m confident enough to wear a transparent cat suit, or show skin. Every day, women have to boost themselves up. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am fabulous, I am beautiful, I am me, and I am my own best competition,” says Polanco. “I always say to my followers and myself that the outfits are armor, because at times it almost hides what I feel. I look back at my old red carpet pictures where I wasn’t as confident, and it shows in the images. Now that I’ve gotten older, I realize that life is short—I’m building that confidence, and doing things as far as fashion that I’ve never done before.”
She also revealed her plans of delving into Fashion Designing in the future saying, “I want to design something that’s between plus and between sample sizes—a brand that eventually would market to everyone, to all women, period. I think that Hollywood-wise, people that have influence have to start making the change and speaking up. This year I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, as far as fashion goes, just meeting with people, collaborating and brainstorming, because fashion is something I will invest my time in.”
Photo credit: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images
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