Plus-size pioneer Anna Scholz shutters label after three decades

Plus-size fashion pioneer Anna Scholz has shuttered her ground-breaking label after three decades in the business citing the cocktail of pressures brought about by Covid, Brexit, rising costs and the cost of living crisis.

Scholz grew up in Germany and had the age of 13 had already grown to 6ft tall and wore a size 16 dress size. She started her career as a plus-size model and went on to study fashion at Central Saint Martins.

While still a student she began selling her own designs at Portobello Market and her big break came when American retail giant Lane Bryant commissioned her to create a collection, thus the Anna Scholz label was born.

Scholz was one of the first designers to offer luxury fashion for the plus-size market and her feminine and often heavily embellished designs were beloved by women the world over and worn by high profile names, such as Aretha Franklin, Ashley Graham, Queen Latifah and Dawn French among others.

Over the years the brand has been stocked in Selfridges, Harrods, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue, while Scholz also collaborated with more affordable brands and retailers, including Debenhams and Simply Be. Latterly the brand, which once had a flagship store in Berlin, had been focused on selling via its direct to consumer website.

Scholz recently wrote to her customers to inform them of her decision to close the brand saying it was "no longer a viable business" due to the many market pressures.

Whle Scholz described the closure of the business as "the end of an era", she was able to reflect on the successes of the brand. "In the past three decades, the world of plus-size fashion has changed and we can all be proud to have contributed something towards a world that embraces diversity and inclusivity more readily, and I will always feel passionate about this cause."

Scholz said for now she would be pursuing her new-found love of pottery and invited her fans to follow her on Instagram.