Plus-size model Ashley Graham is hitting the media circuit to promote her new line of lingerie for Addition Elle.
The Nebraska-born model teamed up with the plus-sized retailer to create a 14-piece collection of bras, panties and slips with a vintage feel.
Graham began her cross-country media tour in Montreal on Nov. 11, followed by Toronto (Nov. 12), Vancouver (Nov. 13) and Edmonton (Nov. 15). She’ll host a media dinner in each city and do interviews for broadcast and print media. In Montreal, for example, Graham was interviewed on Breakfast Television.
Graham, who has worked as a model for Addition Elle and Lane Bryant, approached Addition Elle about designing her own lingerie collection. “She’s a good fit [for our brand] because she’s a wonderful role model in terms of body image,” said Roslyn Griner, VP of marketing and visual display at Reitmans, which owns Addition Elle.
“She is recognized as the iconic plus-sized model, especially for lingerie… When we did consumer testing, she was second only to Adele in terms of who [our customers] wanted to see a collection from.”
Griner said the company decided on a media tour just to create awareness of the collection, which hit stores Nov. 7. “[Graham] is so articulate and charming that we felt it would be the best use of her time and for her to [talk] about the line herself.”
Griner believes the media will take an interest in the story because “plus-size” is a hot topic at the moment. “There’s a lot of discussion about body image. For example, Chip Wilson, Lululemon’s founder recently stated that his pants don’t belong on everybody,” said Griner. “There’s a lot of conversation about why do we not want to talk about plus-size and why don’t we want to include everyone in terms of the fashion world.
“For us, it’s really about showcasing [plus-size] in a positive way… I think this message of wanting to be included and wanting to be respected resonates a lot with the consumer right now.”
The Ashley Graham collection will also be promoted with digital advertising and subway advertising, as well as videos on YouTube. Creative was developed by Montreal-based Mookai; Brill Communications and Viviane Roy Communications are handling PR.
