Dive Brief:
- Inclusive DTC apparel brand Universal Standard has launched a size exchange program that allows customers to swap one of their styles for a new size if the original no longer fits, free of charge.
- The program, called Fit Liberty, offers women an opportunity to shop over 400 styles in sizes 00 to 40, per a company press release emailed to Retail Dive. The program gives customers up to one year to exchange for a new piece.
- The collection, with items starting at $50, is available on Universal Standard’s website and in the company’s SoHo showroom in New York. Products are also available on the brand’s traveling pop-ups, which started Sunday.
Dive Insight:
Universal Standard did a soft-pilot of Fit Liberty in 2017 with limited styles. Today, Fit Liberty includes denim, workwear, outerwear, dresses, athleisure and other designs.
“While size fluctuation is a normal part of life, we don’t think it should dictate how you shop,” Polina Veksler, co-founder and CEO, said in an email. “So with Fit Liberty, we’re removing these limitations and empowering the customer to invest in premium garments that fit exceptionally well in real-time, without the expectation of weight fluctuation compromising style preference, comfort, quality, or finances. No more buying pieces that are too small or too big just in case. No more purchasing fast fashion because you’re afraid of investing in great clothes that may no longer fit in a few months.”
Universal Standard was founded in 2015 by Veksler and the late Alexandra Waldman, who passed away last September. Since its original launch of an eight-piece collection, the brand has consistently added new categories and collaborations. In recent years the company has partnered with Adidas on activewear and J. Crew on an apparel collection. In 2023, it launched its own line of swimwear and acquired plus-size brand Henning.
The brand pioneered inclusive sizing when, in 2018, it expanded its range to include 00 to 40. At the time Waldman, who was also its chief creative officer, told a group at an event that fashion should be for every body. “The idea that all women should have access to beautiful things is something I feel very passionate about and if you’re not making it for a size 6 then you shouldn’t be making it for a size 26,” Waldman said at the time.
Universal Standard’s Fit Liberty collection comes at a time when a number of brands have pulled back on their plus-size assortment, citing various challenges of creating a wide range of sizes. Brands including M.M.LaFleur, Loft and Old Navy in recent years announced moves to scale back or entirely drop their assortments.
