When Modcloth decided to expand its plus-size offerings last year, Chief Creative Officer Susan Koger was shocked that many designers weren't capitalizing on the business opportunity.
Koger reached out to the company's 1,500 vendors for help, and received only 35 responses.
But the tide is already starting to turn in fashion.
Today, Modcloth is working with more than 160 vendors to produce plus-size clothing, which is the brand's fastest-growing segment. The brand expects sales to double in 2014.
"It definitely keeps getting easier to expand our plus-size lines and designers are more receptive," Koger told Business Insider in a telephone interview. "There's no other opportunity like this in fashion right now."
To find out more about the prevalence of plus-size shoppers in America, Modcloth hired Paradigm Sample to conduct a survey of 1,500 U.S. women aged 18 to 44.
The survey found that more U.S. women report wearing a size 16 than 0, 2, and 4 combined. And 80% of plus-size women said they would spend more on apparel if they could find flattering clothes.
"In the fashion industry, the customer gets to vote with their wallet," Koger told Business Insider. "Our customers are saying loud and clear what they want."
Modcloth put together a graphic with major findings from its survey.
The results build a compelling case for the revolution that is about to happen in plus-size fashion.
