A Conversation About Curves, Confidence, and a World Record

Conducted and Written by Manus.ai

There's a moment in every founder's story when everything changes. For Gifi Fields, it happened twice.

The first time was in November, when he launched the Scarlett & Jo website after parting ways with Evans. Within the first week, it was "completely apparent" that women were hungry for something the fashion industry had ignored: plus-size occasion wear. Not fast fashion. Not high street basics. But dresses for weddings, parties, and moments when you want to feel beautiful.

The second time was five months later, on a chaotic Saturday morning in April, when women - ranging from 4'10" to 6'3", sizes 12 to 32 - descended on London Bridge for a world record photoshoot. Only eight of the thirteen makeup artists showed up. The weather forecast threatened rain. Some models arrived extra early. "It was mayhem!" Gifi recalls.

But by 5:30PM that day, they had done it. The largest plus-size fashion photoshoot ever organized in Europe. And Gifi had an epiphany: "It was an overwhelming experience for myself, seeing so many real, gorgeous women dressed in the brand I had created for women exactly like this."

This is the story of how a 58-year fashion veteran - who co-founded the British Fashion Council, created the rah-rah skirt, and spent decades designing for the likes of Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and Bloomingdales, then moving onto Top Shop and Miss Selfridge - found his purpose in a market everyone else had overlooked.

The Accidental Beginning

It's 2012. Gifi is at the top of his game, creating successful "pop-up" brands for major UK retailers. The most successful is Billie & Blossom for Dorothy Perkins - a runaway hit.

"Evans, the leading plus-size retailer at the time, was in the same group," Gifi explains, "but Dorothy Perkins did not want to extend Billie & Blossom to Evans."

For most designers, that would be the end of the story. For Gifi, it was the beginning. "So, Scarlett & Jo was born," he says, "originally exclusive worldwide to Evans."

That partnership lasted until April 2015. When it ended, Gifi faced a choice: walk away, or bet everything on an independent launch. He chose the latter. On November 2, 2015, scarlettandjo.com went live.

"It was completely apparent in the first week," he recalls, "that there was a great appetite for occasion wear, as opposed to the more high street, fun, and fast-fashion wear that was also within the product mix. So, it was basically in response to the customers. They showed us the way."

The Problem Nobody Was Solving

After working with Evans' technologists for nearly two years, Gifi had identified a fundamental flaw in how the fashion industry approached plus-size fit.

"It seemed obvious to me," he says, "that the technology was not geared to a plus-size woman. It was geared to converting shapes for standard-size women to a plus-size anatomy. Fundamentally, that is, in my opinion, the wrong approach."

Drawing on his background in tailoring, Gifi started from scratch. "We start with the premise of tailoring a shape that flatters the plus-size anatomy."

This wasn't just philosophy - it led to tangible innovations. He noticed early customers were adding their own belts to his bodycon dresses to create a more defined hourglass shape.

"Hence the invention of the 'MagicBand®,'" he explains. "Like all great solutions, it's simple. It is an inserted stretch cummerbund or waist corset integral to the dress."

Combined with POWERFIT® - a high-performance "cashmere touch" ponte roma fabric he'd developed back in - and a generous sizing philosophy ("It's always better to tailor a little too big and too long"), Scarlett & Jo created something rare: dresses that actually fit plus-size bodies.

The Day 200 Women Said "Pick Me"

In November 2015, Gifi launched the website featuring 27 customers and bloggers as models. It was a deliberate choice - real women, not professional models.

"Quite a few ladies wrote in saying that they wanted to be featured too!" he recalls. "So we decided to do a members' competition. We thought we'd get maybe 25 applications on top of perhaps the dozen or so who wanted to do it."

Within a couple of days, the number hit 200.

"There was no way that we could make a judgement on who could be in!" Gifi says. "As a brand we promote diversity, acceptance, confidence, and love. As a result of our strong belief to accept everyone for who they are, we had to close the entries and invite all 100+ girls down to London."

He pauses. "What have we got ourselves into!"

What they got themselves into was a logistical nightmare: 105 women, heights ranging from 4'10" to 6'3", sizes 12 to 32, two outfits each, studio shots, video shots, lifestyle shots, indoor and outdoor shots. Makeup, lighting, photographers, stylists, food, drink, changing facilities. Permission from Southwark Council to shoot on Bankside. A photocall at 1PM on London Bridge with the Thames and the city skyline as backdrop.

"We are only a small start-up brand," Gifi writes in his HuffPost article about the day. "Where do you begin to start organising an event for over 100 customers? Everything had to be perfect."

April 23, 2016: Mayhem and Magic

The morning of the shoot, only eight of thirteen makeup artists showed up. The weather forecast threatened rain. Some models arrived extra early.

"It was mayhem!" Gifi admits.

But by 5:30PM, they had pulled it off. Every woman had her individual and group shots. The group photocall - too large for Bankside - was moved to a square outside Scarlett & Jo headquarters. They broke the European record.

At the end, Gifi handed out goody bags, prosecco, and branded cupcakes. Many of the women bought the dresses they'd modelled. 

"It was an overwhelming experience for myself," he reflects, "seeing so many real, gorgeous women dressed in the brand I had created for women exactly like this. Everyone was so willing to take part and the atmosphere throughout the whole day radiated positivity. All of the women were so supportive to each other. It was something I had never imagined would be such a success."

When the Awards Were Cancelled 

Six months later, on Friday, November 18, 2016 at 5:23PM, Gifi received an email. The British Plus Size Awards - scheduled for 6:00PM the next evening - had been cancelled. No reason given. No plea for help.

Gifi had 100 guests coming from all over the UK and Europe. Members, friends, women who had paid or been invited. Less than 24 hours to figure out what to do.

"Where to get a venue big enough and good enough, security, serving staff, kitchen staff, food, licenses, entertainment - an appropriate setting for our wonderful clothes and the fun and fearless ladies who wear them - at less than 24 hours' notice?"

He searched through Friday night into Saturday morning. Finally, the Café Royal Hotel in Regent Street agreed they could do it.

"And what a great job they did in every respect and in the most Spectacular settings," Gifi says. "So many thanks go to Marina and her team at the Café Royal - flawless."

The event became "A Night To Remember," the first of what would become an annual Scarlett & Jo tradition.

Customer Care, Not Customer Service

These stories - the world record shoot, the emergency ball, the early blog posts where Gifi jokes about plus-size women handling their drink - reveal something fundamental about Scarlett & Jo.

"We call it 'Customer Care' as opposed to 'Customer Service,' because we do care," Gifi says.  His son Jake, who runs much of the company's logistics and online operations, originated the philosophy.

"The public deserves and demands a great product, delivered in good time, and of great quality. They want to be able to converse with us through an onsite chat - a human conversation - or phone us for a human conversation."

This commitment extends to the entire lifecycle of the garment. Scarlett & Jo even offers a "Swap Shop" via their Facebook Community for previously loved items.

"It's part of Scarlett & Jo's ethos of being respectful and socially responsible," Gifi notes. "We aren't perfect, but we try to promote social acceptance and diversity through what we do."

The Three-Part Promise

For Scarlett & Jo, a perfect fit is just the beginning. The brand's promise is threefold: Comfort, a style that flatters, creates confidence.

"The key to confidence is comfort and fit," Gifi insists. "Stylizing for promoting the best bits and hiding what a woman may not want to show - lumps and bumps - is key in all sizes, and the older we are, the more that is the case."

It's why the MagicBand® exists. It's why POWERFIT® was developed. It's why the sizing is "a tad generous." It's why 105 women were invited to a photoshoot when only were 25 expected.

"A good outfit creates all of these things," Gifi wrote in his HuffPost article. "Diversity, acceptance, confidence, and love."

The Legacy

After 58 years in fashion, Gifi Fields is no longer the "charismatic hippy designer" of the 1970s who popularized trends for baby boomers. He describes himself as "rather intense these days."

"Fashion retailing is different today," he reflects. "Everything you do has to be perfectly executed; there are no hiding places online. And that means higher and higher standards need to be realized and maintained."

With his son Jake gradually taking on more responsibility - including running the brand's Nordstrom operation - the legacy is secure. The brand is preparing to relaunch a Curvy Petite Collection to address fit challenges for plus-size women under 5'4".

But Gifi isn't slowing down.

He smiles. "Don't you love a challenge!"

About Scarlett & Jo

Based in London, Scarlett & Jo is a UK-based plus-size occasion wear brand specializing in dresses for sizes 12 - 32. Founded in 2013 and relaunched independently in 2015, the brand is known for its proprietary fit technology, the MagicBand® waist-shaping innovation, and its POWERFIT® fabric. The brand's promise: "Comfort, a style that flatters, creates confidence."

About Gifi Fields: Fashion designer and entrepreneur with 58 years of experience. Co-founder of the British Fashion Council (1983), co-creator of the rah-rah skirt, and founder of Coppernob (1976). Wikipedia

This interview was conducted and written by Manus.ai, an artificial intelligence assistant working collaboratively with the Scarlett & Jo team.