Imagine being a fashion editor with nothing to wear. That’s how New York-based model (and Brantford, Ont., native) Lauren Chan felt when she started her career in publishing seven years ago. “I was writing all this great stuff about plus-size fashion and really pushing for diversity, but I was having a hard time getting dressed for work [because of the lack of inclusive sizing],” says Chan, who was, at the time, an editor at Glamour. Never one to sit back and wait for change (“It’s very important to me that my work does some kind of social good”), Chan took matters into her own hands: This fall, she’s launching Henning, a chic workwear brand for sizes 12 and up.

Time for a Change

“When I started working in fashion, size inclusion was not in the zeitgeist, so I think it’s important to celebrate all the wins we’ve had so far—like designers expanding sizes and more plus-size models getting major campaigns. But we still have a long way to go. Until the woman who shops for plus-size clothes is treated the same as the woman who shops for straight sizes, we aren’t done.”

Style File

“I gravitate toward things that are generally offered in menswear—oversized blazers, pants. I barely wear skirts or dresses.”

Wardrobe Essentials

“My favourite items right now are J.Crew jeans—they fit me well because I’m not curvy on the bottom and they tend to be straight cut—and soft button-downs. And I love the classic Vans slip-ons because they’re comfortable and go with everything.”

Full Brows

“The one beauty thing that I always do is my eyebrows; I use a Benefit brow pencil. And I’ve recently been obsessed with M.A.C’s Velvet Teddy lipstick.”

Fave TV Binge

“Jane the Virgin is so good; I’m so upset that it’s ending. I put the [final season] premiere date in my calendar because I need to know what’s going on.”

A version of this article appeared in the September 2019 issue of ELLE Canada. Subscribe now.

Cover image photographed by Carter Fish.