Fashion Commerce Finds Its Plus-Size Fit

For years, extended-size fashion in India has been limited to a separate section, a handful of styles or basic XXL-and-above clothing. The result is often a poor shopping experience. A shirt may fit at the chest but pull at the armhole. A dress may work at the waist but sit awkwardly at the hip. A kurta may look fine in a standing trial, then become uncomfortable once the customer moves. 

Now, a clutch of digital-first brands is starting to treat this as a design, demand-forecasting and inventory problem. Last year, Virgio, a fashion brand founded by former Myntra CEO Amar Nagaram, launched Beyond The Curve, a line for plus-size women. 

Rather than simply extending its existing catalogue into larger sizes, Virgio built the collection through customer feedback, co-created it with actor and body-positivity advocate Anjali Anand, and plugged it into its on-demand production model. 

There are others too. Myntra has Sztori, Westside has Gia and Diza, TIGC has Hardsoda, and NEWME is preparing a dedicated plus-size range.

What makes this worth tracking is that the market is expanding beyond consumers who need larger sizes. Shoppers are also choosing relaxed shirts, oversized silhouettes and roomier fits for comfort, breathability, layering and modest dressing. That turns extended sizing from a narrow inclusion category into a wider fashion behaviour.

For shoppers, this is not simply about finding a larger garment. It is about finding fashion made for their proportions, preferences and purchase journey. That is the white space in India’s apparel retail market, estimated to cross $193 Bn by FY30. 

Why Brands Don’t Build Beyond Standard Sizes

Fashion brands usually begin with a base pattern, grade it across a standard size run, place bulk orders and distribute inventory across stores and online channels. It is an efficient system when the size curve is predictable. Extended sizes complicate nearly every part of it: product design, fabric use, cutting, tailoring, inventory planning and merchandising.

NEWME founder Shivam Tripathi put the issue plainly: “The same design won’t work for customers of all sizes.” A garment that works in an XXS or S cannot always be stretched to 5XL or 6XL simply by adding inches. The shoulder, bust, waist, armhole, hip and trouser rise may all need separate consideration.

The commercial fallout follows quickly. When the fit is wrong, returns rise, repeat purchases fall, and the category appears to move slowly. Brands see weak sell-through in 3XL or 4XL, then reduce the range in the next buying cycle. 

On the investors’ end, the industry has been caught in a loop where poor product creates poor data, and poor data becomes the reason not to invest in better products. On the operational end, brands offer a few extended sizes but reserve trend-led products for standard-size shoppers. 

“That misses the point. Extended-size shoppers want the same access to fashion trends as everyone else. They do not want only forgiving basics, even if basics are easier to manufacture,” Tripathi added.

That is why the opportunity has moved beyond a size-chart extension. It needs a different operating model.

Where D2C Brands Have An Advantage

Digitally native brands have an advantage because they can launch smaller collections, analyse purchase and return data in real time, and build communities around underserved customer segments. 

Their direct relationship with shoppers allows them to develop products tailored to specific body shapes rather than to standard grading rules.

NEWME is applying that approach to its upcoming dedicated plus-size range. “Our low-inventory and tech-driven model allows us to have a wide range of designs for plus-size customers, while keeping inventory risk very minimal,” founder Tripathi said.

Low inventory alone does not solve the category. But it gives brands room to test more fashion-led designs without making a heavy bet on a size curve they do not yet understand. If one trouser fit works with a particular customer cohort, the brand can deepen it. If a dress repeatedly fails at the bust or waist, it can change the block instead of carrying the issue into the next season.

Technology can make this learning cycle more precise, said Mani Singhal, managing director and co-lead of the consumer and retail practice at Alvarez & Marsal India.

“AI-led sizing tools can use customer measurements, purchase histories and return reasons to improve fit recommendations. Demand forecasting can help brands allocate inventory by region and customer cohort, rather than send identical size mixes everywhere. Virtual try-ons can also give first-time online shoppers more confidence,” said Singhal.

The bigger payoff is trust. Extended-size consumers have historically shopped on availability rather than preference. As choice improves, they are becoming more style and brand-conscious. Once they find a brand that delivers a consistent fit, the switching cost is high. Digital channels offer assortment and privacy, while stores can still help customers try a new brand before becoming repeat online buyers.

This makes the segment commercially attractive, not merely about inclusion. He said the market is underserved and customers want the same trends as any other shopper. When a brand delivers that, it can build a stickier customer base, stronger repeat purchases and better margins.

That does not mean large retailers are locked out. “The eventual winners will not be defined by channel alone. Retailers that combine physical reach with digital capabilities and data-led merchandising can build a compelling advantage. The key is to stop treating extended sizing as a narrow add-on,” Singhal added.

The Road Ahead

The challenge, however, is making the model work at scale. Extended sizing creates more SKUs, more complicated inventory planning and a greater risk of stock-outs in one size while another remains unsold. Manufacturers will need flexible production capabilities to handle smaller runs and broader size ranges economically. Retailers, meanwhile, will need local merchandising models rather than allocating the same size curve to every city and store.

Ujwal Sutaria, founder and general partner at TDV Partners, believes a scalable business should keep return rates below 20%-25%, achieve more than 40% repeat purchases over 12 months, build proprietary fit on Indian body data and retain control over manufacturing. He also expects unusually low customer-acquisition costs: if a brand genuinely solves a problem that has frustrated shoppers for years, the product should drive referral and repeat behaviour.

The category also needs to avoid copying the wrong international model. For India, he sees a stronger reference in Singapore-based Love, Bonito, which was built around Asian proportions rather than a Western plus-size gentry.

India’s opportunity may be harder because it includes ethnicwear and occasionwear, where fit is more complex, and spending is higher. But that difficulty is also what makes the opportunity defensible. A brand that develops well-fitting kurtas, blouses, trousers and festive silhouettes for varied body types is building more than a collection. It is building a product capability that will be difficult to replicate quickly.

Singhal expects inclusive sizing to become part of mainstream assortment planning by 2030. The next generation of category leaders, he said, will be defined less by the largest size range and more by consistent fit, customer experience and the use of data across design, merchandising and supply chain.

That is the shift to watch. India’s fashion ecommerce players are no longer just deciding whether to stock XXL sizes and above. A few are asking a more consequential question: what would fashion look like if it were designed around the customer first, rather than asking the customer to fit into the system?

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Ecommerce Buzz

• Flipkart’s Food Delivery Bet: The IPO-bound ecommerce giant is looking to enter India’s food delivery market in the coming weeks. The company also clarified that it does not have a fixed IPO timeline right now, while underplaying the importance of quick commerce.

• Commerce Ministry Eases FDI Rules: The commerce ministry has relaxed FDI rules to enable B2B exports from India, allowing marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart to sell products from Indian sellers overseas. However, restrictions remain on B2C and inventory-based ecommerce platforms like Eternal’s Blinkit.   

• Meesho’s Q1 Loss Narrows: Ecommerce platform Meesho’s consolidated net loss dipped 54.1% YoY to ₹132.8 Cr in Q1 FY27 from ₹289.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue jumped 48% YoY to ₹3,707 Cr on the back of higher platform monetisation, lower cancellations and return-to-origin (RTO) rates.
• Eternal Records 3X PAT: The consumer internet startup recorded a consolidated net profit of ₹92 Cr in the first quarter of FY27, up nearly 3.7X YoY from ₹25 Cr, while operating revenue surged 182% YoY and 17% QoQ to ₹20,211 Cr, owing majorly to Blinkit’s transition to an inventory-led business model. 

The Deep Dive

Operator’s Question 

Many brands struggle to scale extended-size offerings without hurting margins or operational efficiency. What are the most important operational principles to overcome this challenge? 

Speaking to Inc42, The Indian Garage Co. founder Anant Tanted said that extended-size consumers are looking for fashion, quality and choice, not just larger measurements. When a product is designed around their needs, brands can build stronger loyalty and scale the category sustainably.

Speaking about the operational principles that enable such brands to scale, Tanted highlighted the following key focus areas: 

• Build Demand-Led Assortments: Extended sizes should be planned around actual customer demand, with SKU-level data guiding depth, colour and size allocation. This helps avoid overproduction and reduces inventory risk.
• Keep Indian Body Types In Focus: Rather than simply scaling up standard-size patterns, we test our fits on actual Indian body types across extended sizes. This helps us understand how garments fit, move and drape on different body shapes, allowing us to build more accurate grading and consistent fits.
• Manage Inventory With Discipline: A balanced approach to depth, replenishment and regional demand is critical. Smaller initial buys, faster replenishment and clear sell-through thresholds can help protect margins while ensuring availability.
• A Focused Assortment Strategy:  Not every style needs to be available across every size. Identifying hero categories and best-selling silhouettes allows brands to concentrate resources where demand is strongest.

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