The Cut Profiles Marita Aikonen, Design Director at Dia&Co, For Women Wearing Size 14 And Up
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The Cut profiles Marita Aikonen, design director at the subscription service Dia & Co, a fast-growing subscription service catering to women who wear size 14 and up. In her nearly two years at the company, Aikonen has launched eight new labels from the ground up -- NO small feat. Most recently, the Finland-born creative worked with EleVen by Venus Williams to translate her designs into Dia & Co's size range.
Startups aren't new to Aikonen. At Levi's, she started the women's Dockers plus-size division. After that stint, she moved to Old Navy to oversee both their plus and maternity design offerings. “We built out the plus-size business in active and swim as well as sweaters. These were categories where there had previously been a misconception that they wouldn’t be successful in plus sizes, and we were able to disprove that myth,” explained Aikonen.
Launching her own line and working as a consultant, Aikonen applied for a job at Dia & Co as a stylist. She was initially rejected as being overqualified, until her résumé landed on the desk of co-founder and CEO Nadia Boujarwah. The Cut conducts an interview with Aikonen.
