Paulette Peterson

Web of Fashion

"Ever since we were in junior high school, we had a dream to design a line of clothing for curvy women," says FIDM fashion design grad Paulette Peterson. Peterson's longtime best friend and now business partner, Jan Caplan, has always been a curvy woman, and has had trouble finding flattering, affordable clothes since she was a teen.

"We felt there was a need in the plus-size market to give women a choice of nice fabrics and silhouettes that were shaped, so that they could feel good the size that they are. She came to me and asked if I was ready to do our dream and I said, 'yeah!'" In 2001, CurvyClothes.com was born.

Jan chose a good time to approach Paulette—she had just left the Walt Disney Co. where she'd spent ten years as a designer, first doing operational clothing (hotels and ride operators), then costumes for the parades and entertainment, then character design. She got to work on great projects for Disney's "Fab Five" characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Chip 'n' Dale, such as Halloween costumes for Walt Disney World. Her last project for the company was the "character overdressing," which is designing themed costumes to go over the character garb of the Fab Five for Disney's newest U.S. themepark, Disney's California Adventure.

Paulette's interest in Fashion Design came from her grandmother, who was a designer, and Paulette had always been artistic, and loved to sketch. Her creativity led her to FIDM, where she was nominated for a Bob Mackie Award. Her first job after FIDM was as a lingerie designer for a large company. From there Paulette tried her hand at textile design, then women's clothing, then as art director for a screen printing company where she worked on designs for Nike, Adrienne Vittadini, OP, and the 35-year anniversary design for Disney, before arriving at Disney.

All these career possibilities were open to her because of the training she received from FIDM's faculty of industry pros. "FIDM was the best thing I could have ever done," says Paulette. "They really prepare you. There aren't very many surprises out there, because you're so well-prepared. And it is because they are professionals who have been in the industry. Their guidance was impeccable." "I can't stress enough the importance of the one-on-one attention that FIDM provides. You can't get more help than that, aside from the work experience you get."

Paulette and Jan's fashion "baby" CurvyClothes.com is a line of reasonably priced, stylish separates and dresses for curvy women size 14-24. " When you get into the Dana Buchman or the Jones New York labels, they're nice, but costly," says Paulette. "We're trying to make a moderate price line to offer more choices." She continues. "We developed a whole line and we've had a great response!" Their leopard print ruffle dresses, collar jackets, and black pants have quickly become bestsellers.

How has FIDM helped Paulette realize her junior high school dreams? "I wouldn't be able to design if I hadn't gone to FIDM!" she exclaims. "I wouldn't even be able to attempt such a project on my own."