Tevin: There are plus size models that should be
on the front page of your website with everybody else.
We are beautiful.
This is kind of just everything
that I pulled out of my wardrobe
for Fashion Week.
This sweater I thought was super cool.
My style isn't just based off of like one thing.
I like metallics, I love textures.
Fashion is something that's living
it's like that friend that you have
that you can always count on to excite you.
My name is Tevin Evans. I'm from Brooklyn, New York
and I'm a plus size male model and stylist.
The current men's fashion landscape is
a rocky one.
I'm you know one of those people that's working towards greater common good,
not just for plus size guys, but
you know
black men and people of all shapes and sizes in general.
Plus size men are not just guys who want to wear sweatpants,
we want to look good too.
I've been big my entire life
fashion ...
played a huge role throughout my childhood.
growing up my mother always instilled like,
keeping up my appearance was an important thing.
The way that I present myself to the world
would speak louder than the words that I'd say when I walk in a room.
So I am
absolutely stoked for today.
It's day five of Fashion Week.
I've got a brunch planned with some of my close friends.
I will be doing a consultation with a brand and
I'll be capping my day off
with a fashion show.
This is what I'll be wearing for brunch.
It's super exciting and the texture is great.
So we're in one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Brooklyn
Dumbo,
and we're going to go have brunch
at the super cool restaurant
called Celestine.
It was marked one of the most
Instagramable restaurants in the city.
So I got into modelling
I would post on Instagram just like
pictures of my outfit
someone like
got a hold of one of my photos
and suggested that I tagged this
blog in it
and that blog re posted my photo
it got over 3,000 likes within like an hour,
which was absolutely insane.
I'm really excited to just be spending time with you guys
because honestly
Fashion Week is fun and all but it is tiring.
It's nice to be around people that I actually like.
and want to be around.
Brandon: Tev has been somebody who
has supported my journey and big men's fashion
the whole time.
He's what made me actually start
doing big men's fashion.
Lance: If you look at
most of the campaigns
for any of the major companies
that are made for plus size men,
the models are all the same.
They have the same build
they usually about six two.
They're stocky, but I wouldn't necessarily call them plus size.
They don't have like my build
They don't have a lot of belly.
And it's been that way for a long time.
So Tevin is representing for
a lot of us guys who don't see ourselves reflected in
the plus size industry currently.
Tevin: Brunch was so good,
I was super happy,
to be able to spend that time with my friends.
There's so much to do today,
and I'm amped up for it.
I think that brands are doing diversity
in having models that have tattoos,
having models that maybe have ailments.
having models that
aren't your conventional definition of pretty,
but I think that we're still a far away from having models of colour
being prevalent on runways.
I want to see more black faces.
I want to see, more Latinos
on the runway and Asians.
there are plus size models
that should be
on the front page of your website,
smiling with everybody else,
because we are beautiful,
we're amazing and talented.
What I want to say to the world is first and foremost,
as a black man,
you are powerful
you can do literally anything it is that you put your mind to,
you can enter an industry where
you are not the majority
and be a pillar
within that community.
I want to be able to walk out of my house
dripping,
you know
in designer good because I can, understand that.
Understand that as a plus size guy.
The one thing that I want to do
is have all of this amazing energy that lives inside of me
be pushed to the forefront
in my outward appearance as well.
I think that it's so important as
someone who is a body positive
activist to acknowledge that
we all have our struggles,
mine being, in the media,
my presence during Fashion Week and stuff like that
is a way of
you know, saying to those other guys like hey,
I see you.