Beth Ditto has an irresistible charm that’s palpable even by phone. As the former Gossip frontwoman (she confirmed her split from the band earlier this year) talks through the second installment of her eponymous plus-size clothing line from her Portland apartment, it’s easy to see why so many young creatives would be drawn to collaborate with her. Ditto, whose own inimitable on-stage style has most memorably included big knickers and a brilliant series of iridescent catsuits, enlisted the Scottish artist and stylist Charles Jeffrey and photographer Hanna Moon to host a raucous L.A. house party especially for the new campaign. It’s more than a match for the visceral mood of the clothes: unapologetic, riotously kooky prints featuring gloopy nail polish and eyelash motifs appear on looks intended to reveal and accentuate, rather than hide a fuller figure; this eleven-piece capsule is about confidence, not cowering away, after all. With her label, Ditto is bringing her highly charged, Riot Grrrl-inflected aesthetic center stage—whether mainstream fashion is ready or not. Here, she gives Vogue.com a first look at her bold and covetable collection, and talks to us about the politics of “curvy,” the creativity of makeup, and the joys of working with friends.   What did you learn from launching the first collection, and how did things differ the second time around? After the last collection, which I designed myself, I realized I’d tried to have too much control. I’m not a controlling person, but I definitely have to be involved and sometimes I can get in my own way. Like most people, I’m my own worst critic, and it got to the point where I was like, “I can’t look at this anymore. Is this a dress or a cat? I can’t even tell.” The beauty of this collection is that I stepped away from the design, and worked with my friend and stylist Frédéric Baldo. I know my body and how to dress it, but I realized that I needed help with certain aspects that I don’t know about, like the business side of things. We’ve worked together for 10 years now, and so for me that was incredibly valuable. How would you describe your approach to the project? When you’re working with friends you do something and then afterwards you’re like, “That was a mistake” or “This was great” or “This was bad.” Our approach is really willy-nilly. It feels like being a kid again and going on tour. You think: “We’ll go and just wing it. When we get there we’ll work out what we’re doing.” We don’t have investors. No one is taking our hands and leading the way—it’s unchartered territory for us, especially with plus-size fashion because it’s all such a new world. Was it difficult to surrender control? Handing over control is so good if the people taking control know what they’re doing. I think it’s just about knowing your strengths and weaknesses. You definitely find out what you’re good at. My know-how is my body and bodies like mine. A designer’s know-how is fabric and patterns and how to realize a vision. Because Frédéric is a great friend and we’re really close, we can be really honest with each other. Plus he’s not afraid to say no.   What was your main input into this line? More than anything it was the structure [of the clothes]. We took the designs from the previous collection, then re-crafted and refined them. We gave everything more shape and at the same time made it all feel more youthful. I couldn’t execute these pieces at that level. If I’m sewing on my own I’m going make a box dress, or some curtains. Everything would be much more simple, as that’s what I understand. This collection is more structural and more sophisticated. It’s like the difference between making pizza at home when you can’t really cook, or going to a pizza-maker with all the ingredients and having them create the best pizza you’ve ever had. I’m so happy with the results! There are lots of beauty-related prints in the collection. How did you hit on the idea of incorporating makeup? It’s a continuation from the first collection. I just love makeup, and when Frédéric and I started talking about it, all these different ideas just immediately came up—from the false eyelashes to the nail-polish drips. We thought, “How can we make it cooler?” And I think bigger is always the answer when it comes to prints. The bigger, the better I think. I want you to see it. I want you to notice it, so upping the scale was important. What did exploring makeup in this way reveal to you about your relationship with it? To me, it’s not an amour; it’s meditative. When I wake in the morning and have my coffee, and my cigarette, I then sit and do my eyes. Even though I have a shitload of makeup I wear the same thing every day, but I don’t have to. I like the idea that at any moment, anything can happen. I see it as this creative space that you get to have every day if you want to. I don’t wear jewelry (I might wear a necklace for luck, I’m pretty superstitious that way) and I don’t dress crazy all the time, but I have a big face, like a billboard, so I have to fill that space [laughs]. I should get a Nike swoosh tattooed on my forehead. Going back to the oversize makeup prints, designers often avoid bold patterns when creating plus-size fashion. Do you think there are misconceptions about what is figure-flattering? Yes, I think that’s wrong. That’s why I think it’s so important to create this collection, and to be a part of this whole plus-size movement. We’re re-creating the idea of what flattering is. As a fat woman, and especially as an LGBT woman, you’re not supposed to be proud or be seen, and if you take those factors and put them into fat fashion, it becomes all about visibility. I’m lucky to be successful enough to fund this line myself and to do something that hasn’t necessarily been seen on this kind of mainstream level, so it’s important that it makes a statement and celebrates the wider movement. There are lots of independent designers out there creating plus-size fashion DIY, and I like to recognize them.   Is there anything you find annoying when it comes to discussions of plus-size fashion? The only word that I don’t love is curvy. If thin people can be called thin, then I can be called fat. I’m not really that sensitive about it. Who cares? The photo shoot for this collection has the raw look and feel of a house party. Why did it feel right to cast non-models for this campaign? This time I really wanted to do work with real people. The great thing about working with Charles Jeffrey, who styled the collection, is that he’s super chill. He understands that when it comes to a shoot, it doesn’t have to be this huge planned event with a crazy budget. I was looking for beauty that is not represented, people who you felt there was something special about them, who made you think you think, I want to take a picture of them. That’s the fun part of being the boss, you get to choose all these elements. What was the most memorable moment from the shoot? It was hot as hell. Everyone was so hot. We had to go and get a portable air-conditioning unit from Target, which we then took back to the shop after the shoot [laughs]. And if someone says, “Would you rather be hot or hungry?” I’d say hungry, always. Was there a part of this project that felt like a return to the early Gossip days? I’ve never really felt disconnected from that time really. I’m still here in my apartment in Portland. I’m 35 now, and I’ve been making music since I was 18. This is not about being punk, or doing something from grassroots, but about being around people who were really excited to be there. That’s why this project was so cool, no one was jaded and there was no attitude. It was so nice to be around a different group of people and getting different bodies and representing different backgrounds and styles and ambitions. There was even a young singer from Portland. People weren’t there just to model, they were there because we saw them and thought they look like they’d be a good time. The collection is available now on BethDitto.com. This interview was edited and condensed.  

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