Queen Latifah Building Respect for the ‘Curvaceous Woman’

Courtesy ESSENCE

Her clothing line for HSN is selling like crazy, but Queen Latifah says finding clothes as a plus-size woman was at one time a constant struggle.

“A lot of manufacturers don’t respect the curvaceous woman,” she laments in the January issue of ESSENCE. “They don’t respect our dollar or our shape.” Thankfully, she’s found an understanding vendor in HSN. “[It’s] been such a great partnership,” she says. “I’m happy to make women’s clothing I really like.”

In August, Latifah told PEOPLE she was designing for real women who want affordable, wearable fashion. “It’s really something you can incorporate into your existing wardrobe,” she said of the tops, jackets, jeans and handbags in the Queen Collection. “I mean these are things that are really beautiful, but they’re very wearable. We’re really trying to make sure that they have the best fabrics possible, that it feels good on the body. I’m a Pisces, I’m sensitive; I like things to feel good on my skin.”

Designed for women sizes 2 to 24, the collection is everything the actress wants: “stylish clothes that fit my body, and make me look good and feel good about myself,” she shared. “I wanted to offer basically the same things that I have the opportunity to have.”

Latifah, known for singing, acting, hosting and now designing, says her many talents are making the way for comparisons to a fellow jack-of-all-trades. “People say I’m going to be the next Oprah,” she shares with ESSENCE. “No. Oprah is still Oprah. I’ll be the next me. I feel like there’s always a lane for me as long as I’m true to myself.” For more with Latifah, visit ESSENCE.com.

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