Gabbi Fresh

Last Thursday, Target celebrated the launch of their new plus size line, AVA & VIV with a party in the penthouse of The Standard East Village. I’ve always loved that space because the view of Manhattan is simply breathtaking; no matter how many times I visit, it never gets old. Chastity, Nicolette and I were the co-hosts for the evening, and we all had such a great time. We got to mingle with press and bloggers, talk about our experience working with Target, and give everyone a first look at the Spring collection.

I wore some of my favorite pieces from the line, including the printed black and white trousers and grey blazer:

I’ve seen some false rumors floating around and I thought I’d take this opportunity to clear some things up. Chastity, Nicolette and I did not help design AVA & VIV. After the Spring collection had already been designed, we were brought in as consultants to help Target figure out what they were doing well and what they could improve upon. They were super receptive to our feedback–we told them honestly what we loved and what we hated, no sugarcoating. The fact that they are even letting me type this shows how much they care–many brands would never let the girl in their campaign openly say “there are things I don’t like” to her readers. Target gets it, lets us have our voice, and is continually trying to get better.

While I wouldn’t wear everything from this line, I recognize that it’s a huge improvement from Target’s previous offerings in plus sizes, and I also know that the Fall collection is even better. I’m happy that a huge company is putting an affordable plus size line designed in-house into every single store, and has brought three stylish women into their headquarters and truly listened to their opinions. (Not to mention featured actual plus size women including a size 26 in their lookbook)! I think this is a huge win in so many ways, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Here’s a video from Thursday night shot by Kelly Augustine (bonus: you can see my new haircut in motion):

This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Target, all opinions are my own.