Welcome to “Seven Minutes in Heaven” GO Magazine’s brand new interview series that profiles a different queer lady each day, by asking her seven custom (sometimes random) questions. Get to know the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of the groundbreaking, fierce forces-of-nature in the queer community.
Last night a brand new plus-size fashion line hit the world-wide-web and we are so excited. Premme is the brainchild of Nicolette Mason and Gabi Gregg who created this line out of the desire to see more representation of WOC, queer femmes, and plus-size women. So often people are sized out of mainstream fashion options or plus-size lines have thin models wearing the clothes which makes it hard to imagine how it might look on your own body.
As a self-identified queer femme, Nicolette wanted to create a space in the fashion world where fat femmes could be bold, unapologetic and break the old-school fashion rules. She has definitely succeeded. This line is not only creative and stunning but also provides comfortable clothes at an accessible cost. Keep reading below to learn more about Premme, what Nicolette thinks of the new femme fast-fashion trend, and where you can pick up your new fall wardrobe!
GO Magazine: In your words. Who are you and what do you do?
Nicolette Mason: I’m a fashion writer and brand strategy consultant, and co-founder of PREMME.
GO: Where do you go for inspiration when you’re feeling discouraged or depleted?
NM: I definitely lean on my community a lot—especially my femme community. I think femmes in particular, understand emotions and vulnerability in a really incredible way and offer support to one another that is unparalleled. My friends are everything to me!
GO: Who are your biggest queer lady style icons?
NM: Beth Ditto has long been one of my biggest style icons and inspirations. The first time I saw her in a magazine, it was literally the first time I felt a little less alone—especially as a fat, queer, femme. Knowing she existed in the world was a major boost to my self-esteem. People really underestimate the power of visibility—but it’s so vital!
GO: Describe the essence of Premme style.
NM: Premme is about being bold, unapologetic, and eschewing old-school fashion rules. We believe that getting dressed, adorning yourself, and having the agency to self-express through style can be a radical act of empowerment. We love so many of the brands out there right now, but really believe there is so much room for more options in the fashion landscape—especially for people who are sized out of most mainstream fashion. We offer our range in sizes 12-30 at the moment and have an accessible price point of $30-$89.
GO: What advice would you give your younger self?
NM: Know that you’re not alone. Know that there’s nothing wrong with you. Know that you definitely don’t need to change a single thing about yourself to be worthy of love.
GO: Do you have any feelings on fast fashion recently co-opting queer femme identity for profit?
NM: Um, YES! Where do I begin? I mean, on a selfish level, I’m loving all the cute femme apparel readily available for me and my femme friends, but am truly not a fan of straight-cis people adopting “femme” without an understanding of its origins or context. Femme is a queer identity, period. I was in Topshop recently and spotted a cute pink-and-red graphic tee that said “HER.” I was like… Okay, so is Topshop now in the business of gender discourse? What is with the “FEMME VIBES” shirts at H&M? Is there a queer femme hiding out, queering, and subverting popular culture behind the scenes? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!
GO: How do you hope to use Premme to give space for more bodies in a way that hasn’t happened in plus-sized fashion?
NM: This has honestly been the forefront of our mission with Premme, besides the most obvious part which is making cute clothes. Both Gabi, my business partner and co-founder and I are plus-size and truly part of the community; we know the gripes, frustrations, hits, and misses that our peers have been struggling with because we experience them, too. Both being WoC, myself being queer, and both of us inhabiting this space, we’re extremely sensitive and critical to issues around representation.
For our launch, we started with confronting the issue of model casting that is so often a controversy for other brands. We used models who actually fit into—and read as—our size range, with a model who is a size 16, one who is a 20, and one who is a 24/26. There have been very few brands to have diversity in model sizing on their product pages. Obviously, this is just the beginning for us… There is so much we want to do around confronting gender norms, sexuality, accessibility. We have a lot of room for growth and we’re so excited and committed to pushing the boundaries wherever we can.
What Do You Think?