Sir Philip Green Holds First Fashion Show for Evans

GOOD EVANS: Sir Philip Green staged the first major catwalk show for Evans, his plus-size retailer, on the final day of London Fashion Week — and he wants to push the category big time. The show, at Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden, featured designs by Clements Ribeiro, Giles Deacon, the young Chinese designer Lulu Liu, and Central Saint Martins graduate Jamie Wei Huang, as well as those by the in-house team. “This is a big and important part of the market, and we need to be seen to embrace it. You cannot ignore the market place,” Green said after the show. “And you can’t be defensive about it, or apologize about [plus-size fashion]. Why should the category be any different from petite?”

Looks included pretty printed silk or plissé dresses, an embellished oyster satin blouse-and-trouser evening look; and floaty feather-light floor length cardigans. Green suggested that Evans, which has more than 180 stores in the U.K. and Ireland — and even a Web site for the U.S. — may show every season. “This is Day One. It’s a good start — and it’s the product that has to do the talking. The question is ‘How do you make an impact?’ I’m pleased we could do this show, and I’ll be very interested to see who tries to follow us,” he said.