Whoop, there it is!
Whoopi Goldberg is taking the leap from New York Fashion Week front row regular to fashion entrepreneur. The EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winner has announced her plans to launch her own label.
The unlikely fashionista started marinating the idea of starting her own label following a frustrating shopping excursion while on a summer 2017 vacation in Greece. “The View” host was in the market to buy “free and flowy” pieces that were both figure-flattering and true to her aesthetic, but couldn’t find anything and left her Grecian getaway empty-handed.
Goldberg opened up about her fashion frustrations in a recent interview with Business of Fashion. “I started feeling kind of weird about my body, which is something I had never experienced before,” she said. “And it suddenly occurred to me that if that’s how I’m feeling, maybe other people are feeling the same way.”
This fashion epiphany sparked a sartorial fire underneath Goldberg’s sneaker-clad soles that led the star to launch her latest labor of love, Dugbee, a forward-thinking, size-inclusive clothing label.
Goldberg’s business partner and Powell Brand President Joseph Boitano told Business of Fashion the label will cater to “a woman of a variety of shapes and sizes and incomes” who is underserved in the market, adding that the market opportunity is not just plus size customers, but shoppers “in the middle” who might not be fashion obsessed, but who identify with Goldberg’s fashion MO.
Launching May 15 on Amazon, Ashley Stewart, Le Tote and Neiman Marcus, the label will offer looks up to a size 24, including easy-to-wear separates like gingham shirts, black and white striped kaftans, zip-up hoodies and slogan sweatshirts emblazoned with phrases like “I am the American Dream” and “Normal is just a Cycle on a Washing Machine.”
Eager fashionistas looking to buy up the star’s signature styles — prices range from $90 to $400 — can head to Goldberg’s Instagram for a sneak peak of the new line before it officially launches later this week.