When you can’t find what you want in fashion, sometimes you have to create it yourself. That’s what fuels Gia Sinatra, founder and CEO of Gia/irl. With a background in modeling and brand consulting, Sinatra knows what it takes to make a clothing line that fits plus-size bodies.

Her four-year-old Los Angeles-based brand has found success in making trend-driven clothes for sizes 10 to 30 (or L to 5X) and she’s recently teamed up with model and content creator Emma Arletta on a September collection out now. It’s their first ready-to-wear collaboration (and Sinatra’s first with any influencer) following their bridal collaboration earlier this year.

Fashionista caught up with the duo at their New York Fashion Week-timed launch preview held in Dolce Vita’s showroom. The shoe brand was also previewing its fall boot collection, which comes in three different calf sizes — Sinatra was a fit model for the brand and continues to work with it to advocate for inclusivity. That same push for greater inclusivity is what brought Sinatra and Arletta together in the first place.

“Our bridal collection together was such a success, and Emma’s eye is just chef’s kiss,” Sinatra said. “Together we work so well, so we decided to do a fall collection together.”

“It had so much success because the big girls want cool clothes, too,” Arletta added.

The collection dips into the trends that the “skinny girls” are wearing, Arletta said. Clothing options for plus-size women are often dated and frumpy (with “grandma florals”), but Gia/irl x Emma Arletta hawks a going-out top, gauchos, a tracksuit and zebra-print separates, all made to look cool and never hide.

The duo admitted that Arletta did have to push Sinatra to go this trendy. For example, Arletta really wanted the overlay detail on the cream Juliette Trousers and eventually won — though Sinatra chose the neutral color. It pairs with the Juliette Jacket with a trendy funnel neck, which Sinatra says is her favorite piece. The Gabi Gauchos were also a “battle,” Sinatra said, but she loves how they came out.

“This is our cool-girl workwear. You walk into the office and everybody’s like, ‘Where’d you get that?’ Arletta said.

Having an interesting print set (in this case, the Zoey Top and Skirt) was especially important to the duo. “As big girls, we’re told to stay away from prints,” Arletta said. “‘They make you look bigger.’ Uh-uh. We don’t feed into that. Zebra is truly the print of the season.”

Sinatra said she looks to the brand’s community for feedback and she hopes to do more influencer collabs in the future, with girls of all sizes and backgrounds. “Every single event we’ve hosted this weekend has a 200-plus-person waitlist,” Arletta added. “So when I tell you the girls want community, they want community. At Fashion Week, we don’t see ourselves on the runways. We don’t see ourselves at the events. So, what did we do? We created the space to do it.”

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