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Home · News

Fashion Designer to OITNB Star Dascha Polanco: "You’re Not the Sizes We Have"

Orange Is The New Black star Dascha Polanco has had enough of the fashion world declining to work with her because she's not a "sample size."
Fashion Designer to OITNB Star Dascha Polanco: “You’re Not the Sizes We Have”
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images
By Amber McKynzie · Updated October 27, 2020

Orange Is The New Black star Dascha Polanco is curvaceous, absolutely beautiful and full of spunk, but when it comes to the fashion designers, they aren’t necessarily a fan.  

Similar to Leslie Jones, Polanco is finding it hard to secure a fashion brand willing to style her for red carpet events, appearances and other I-need-to-look-good Hollywood moments. In a recent interview with VOGUE magazine, the Domincan-American actress opened up about her ongoing plight with fashion designers not wanting to dress her – even if she’s spent thousands of dollars on their clothing. 

“I had a situation with a high-end brand the other day where I had personally invested so much money purchasing their items, and I love what they do, so I had my publicist reach out to their PR team,” Polanco told VOGUE. “Their response was, ‘Oh, you’re not the sizes we have, not right now, maybe in the future.'” 

No Designer Would Dress Leslie Jones for her ‘Ghostbusters’ Premiere

Turned off by the way the unnamed brand does business, the Netflix star has no intentions of giving them a second chance [when] they have a change of heart. “Now even if they want me to [wear their designs] down the road, I will not give them the pleasure. It’s disappointing, but I try to work with up-and-coming designers who will make things for me and who will collaborate with me. People who love my curves and embrace them as much as I do.”

Frustrated with the “business” side of fashion, Polanco wants to leave her mark on the entertainment industry beyond what’s documented on the big and small screen. To do so, she’s working on building her own fashion brand – accessible to people of all shapes and sizes. 

“I think that Hollywood-wise, people that have influence have to start making the change and speaking up. This year I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, as far as fashion goes, just meeting with people, collaborating and brainstorming, because fashion is something I will invest my time in.”

Click here to read Dascha Polanco’s entire interview with VOGUE.

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