Plus-size fashion is a hard market to crack but with the average UK dress size hitting 16 , many women are left frustrated by designers that seemingly have little knowledge of the female form or how women want to dress . And that is exactly why Evans , who pioneered the first-ever plus-size fashion week , want to change that . The high street store , which falls under Sir Philip Green 's Arcadia umbrella , set up an initiative last year with universities to teach students how to design plus-size clothes for the brand 's Cut for Evans range . Evans , which falls under Sir Philip Green 's Arcadia umbrella , is giving plus-size fashion a trendy edge . Evans Head of Design , Rebecca Vann Reicher , wanted to change the way the next generation of fashion designers view plus-size . So , she asked students from Nottingham Trent and Kingston University to design a six-piece collection that was fashion forward but not limited by size . A panel of industry experts were brought together in New York to judge the competition . The panel included Whitney Thompson ( America ’ s Next Top Model winner ) , Susan Moses ( stylist for Amber Riley and Queen Latifah ) , Gary Dakin ( JAG Models founder ) , among others . Susan Moses said of the calibre of the finalists : ‘ I love the innovation and was totally inspired by the creativity and the vision that the students have for plus size women . ' The high street store set up an initiative last year with universities to teach students how to design plus-size clothes for the brand 's Cut for Evans range and now they stock the winner 's in store . Students from Nottingham Trent and Kingston University were asked to design a six-piece collection that was fashion forward but not limited by size and Yvonne Shu Yao won with this colourful range . The overall winner Yvonne Shu Yao , a BA student at Nottingham Trent University , took inspiration for her collection from the underwater world . The result is an esoteric range that creates a silhouette aimed to fit and flatter . The SS15 collection was chosen to open the Design Collective Show during LFW and is available to buy in Evans stores and online across the UK , US and Europe now . So what do the plus-size industry think ? Rivkie Baum , editor SLiNK magazine , an aspirational fashion and lifestyle for women with curves , said : 'It is great to see that Evans continue to support students breaking into fashion and , of course , continuing to encourage fashion students to think about designing for the growing plus-size fashion market . 'This new collection shown at London fashion week in September was beautiful . The prints are well placed and really calming . 'The Cut continues to be a great success because the classic and easy to wear silhouettes will never date , making these some great investment pieces . ' The collection was shown at the SS15 shows at London fashion week in September on Evans ' runway .
Evans called on students to design fashion-forward collection . The school has been criticized for its dress code and the school's decision not to allow a transgender student to use the bathroom of their choice.