In this age of fighting for social and racial justice and coronavirus, it’s also important not to leave out those flipping society’s body standards on their heads. Nadia Boujarwa is a Cuban woman who’s the founder & CEO of Dia & Co., a plus-size clothing brand and retailer that serves women who are exclusively sizes 14-32.

So how did it begin? She began the project for the plus-sized community when she could not find cute stylish clothes in her own size. 

Amid the ongoing pandemic, most in-person retailers have closed, making things even more difficult for plus-size women.

Knowing she was not the only one who had this problem and found a partner in her Harvard Business School classmate, Lydia Gilbert. For 100 million plus-size women, it was a dream to come true to find clothes that had the same fashion trends as other brands. The company, Dia & Co. works with some of the industry’s top brands, as well as young up-and-coming designers to create a ‘unique style and shape.’

Ahead of the holiday season, Dia & Co. launched an online platform, the ‘Dia Holiday Market,’ that offers small businesses selling plus-size clothing a place to advertise their products through their digital shop on Dia.com.

On Nov. 17, their innovative partnership goes live. 

Those who want to apply should do so from Oct. 23-30. The idea is to create more exposure for these small businesses, especially during one of the most financially hard years in history. 

Dia & Co.’s customer base stretches far and wide across all 50 states. Before starting the company, Boujarwah was an investment banker at Perella Weinberg Partners.

Since 2015, her and Gilbert have been two empowered women that have built a diverse community. In addition to their styling services and clothing retailer, the company also features a Dia Style Box similar to makeup subscriptions IPSY, and Birchbox, except for plus-sized women. 

Building empires of inclusivity are the new it thing, and they’re doing so in fashion.