The fashion industry has claimed to be more inclusive over the past decade. Still, shopping for plus size clothing can feel isolating for many. To spill some tea and truth on the topic, we spoke to Sylvie Wilson (she/her), co-founder of Insyze about the term plus size, shopping as a plus size person and how she’s changing that for the better, and where the industry is really headed.

How did you get started in the fashion industry?
My sister and co-founder Danielle and I have always loved fashion. As a size 12, I was always able to find clothing I loved in my size, but Danielle as a size 20 struggled to find cute, trendy, and sustainable clothing. When we went shopping together, almost nothing was available for Danielle, and so she would ask me to try things on that she liked, just so she could feel a part of the experience. For me, seeing my sister feel bad about herself or left out was unacceptable. I thought, “Let’s do something about that.” So, using my background in marketing and Danielle’s experience in managing e-commerce fashion listings, Insyze was born. Basically, it’s a community led plus size fashion marketplace with stylish clothes in sizes 12 to 40. We now have over 50 brands on site, to suit every budget and need. Our major categories are dresses, special occasions, and vacation outfits.

When you visit Insyze, you can shop from product listings or by customer video reviews. Customers share their honest feedback of items so you can see how clothes really fit and feel for different body shapes and sizes. For every review you post, you earn $30 in Insyze Cash that you can spend on your next order.

Can you share a bit more about the community aspect behind the brand?
Community always led the vision for us when we started Insyze and it’s the main reason that we differentiate our shopping experience as a marketplace. From inception, we designed Insyze to be a fashion space where you could find inspiration and support from the plus size community, as well as shop. From those on-site customer video reviews to our Facebook group Plus Size Outfit Share with over 8k members, our community is not only sharing their purchases and outfits, but their life experiences, too. You can find everything from dating stories to advice for living in a fat body in a fatphobic world.

There’s just something about seeing other people who look like you, in your size, absolutely killing it and feeling confident in their outfits that creates a contagiously positive impact on someone who is struggling with their body image. Inspiring confidence is our ultimate goal and we love doing that through fashion.

What do you think of the term plus size?
From a consumer point of view, it’s helpful to know which brands have your size up front. Many brands don’t even offer over a size 10, so it’s frustrating to shop without the term plus size as a guide. What’s even better though is being upfront about the sizes that plus size includes. Ex: Our sizes range from 12 to 40, but many brands with plus sizes stop at a 22—so there’s a huge group of people being excluded still in those cases.

From a brand’s point of view, plus size is necessary in terms of pattern making for garments because grading rules change after a size 12 or 14. That’s because plus size garments have different requirements for the fit. I never knew this until diving into this industry and understanding that there’s a practical reason behind having plus size as a term.

What’s a common grievance from the community about plus size shopping? And how is Insyze changing that?
One major grievance is when brands use a mid-size (which can be anywhere from a size 8 to 14) model in their product photography. If you’re a size 22 with a big belly and hips looking at product photos from a “plus size” brand that used a size 10 model… It’s frustrating because you can’t imagine that outfit on you.

As a marketplace, we can’t re-photograph every item, but what we can do is encourage our customers of all shapes and sizes to share video reviews of them wearing the garment, so that shoppers can see how things truly fit across all body types.

Do you have any fave plus size clothing brands?
Both Danielle and I are currently obsessed with two of our female-founded brands, Gia/irl and What Lo Wants—both create contemporary and high-quality pieces up to a size 5X. We also created our own plus size clothing brand Dani Marie, named after Danielle! It’s known and loved for its unique prints, flattering shapes, and elevated pieces; transporting you from an everyday to a holiday frame of mind. Every collection is available in sizes 12 to 26.

Where do you see the industry heading in the next decade?
We all thought the industry was moving towards size inclusivity, however this year’s shows in Paris, Milan, and NYC featured less plus size models than previous years, which seems to be part of a wider downward trend for fat representation. It begs the question: If all the headlines about the “rising” obesity epidemic are to be believed and there will be a 27.6% increase in obesity rates amongst American women by 2030, then why isn’t there more representation?

For many people, “just lose weight” isn’t that simple. So I think there will be a growing need for brands to cater towards larger bodies and in a way that is supportive and inclusive, without compromising on trend and style. The industry will need to catch up with this demand over the next decade, and Insyze will be at the forefront of championing style at every size.