First Fitting

The first fitting, the risk, the relief, and the moment we knew our clothes could change how someone feels in their own skin.

The day began with the soft hum of the sewing machines in divka’s Tokyo atelier. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, catching dust motes that swirled like tiny planets above the cutting tables. Rolls of fabric leaned against the wall, their textures and colors a quiet audience to what was about to happen.

Leila stood near the dress form that had been the silent collaborator, a US W20 plus-size body double that had been draped, pinned, and adjusted until every seam told a story. This was the moment of truth.

Across the room, Ana adjusted her cat-eyed fuchsia Kuboraum glasses, scanning the garments on their racks. Months of work, investment, and passionate discussion had distilled into these few archetype pieces: the Sculptural Coat, the Elevated Dress, and the Architectural Pant.

Taka and Moto exchanged a glance, the quiet acknowledgment of craftspeople who know that the fabric has to speak now.

The Moment

Ana stepped into the first garment, a long, flowing dress in a deep Sumi Black wool-silk blend. Moto adjusted the shoulder seam, fingers quick and precise. Taka circled slowly, his eyes mapping how the fabric moved with the body, noting every curve and fall of light.

They held their breath. Months of remote collaboration, sending CLO 3D patterns back and forth, round-tripping them from Japanese CAD tools across time zones, had led to this moment. In plus-size design, the risk is always that a beautiful drawing becomes something unrecognizable once it’s on the body.

Each turned toward the mirror. The atelier went silent.

The dress fit perfectly. Not just in measurement, but in presence. It skimmed the body where it should, anchored gracefully where structure was needed. The asymmetric neckline framed the model’s face; the hem floated just above the ankle, balanced like a note held in tune.

Ana exhaled first, almost a tear in her eye, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

“It’s exactly what I imagined,” she said.

Leila’s shoulders dropped, the tension leaving her posture.

“No compromise,” she murmured.

Why It Mattered

This wasn’t simply about aesthetics. For too long, plus-size garments had been treated as afterthoughts, scaled-up versions of straight-size designs, stripped of the artistry and precision their smaller counterparts enjoyed. What was in front of them now was different. It was made for this body, from the first pin to the final stitch.

As Leila tried the second look, the room filled with quiet excitement. Every piece told the same story: We see you. We designed this for you. You belong here.

For Ana, Leila, Taka, Moto, Sarah, Masaki, Miyuki , and Megumi, it was more than a fitting. It was proof that a space, in between., could be the bridge between exclusion and expression.

Editor Note.

A huge heartfelt thank you and profound remembrance to the late Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid DBE RA. Her radical self-expression and bespoke clothing she had made for herself were an inspiration for Ana over the decades. Our profession, our world miss her. Zaha's innovative forms, clean lines, and parametricism architecture based on non-Euclidean geometry bless our world, and continue to inspire creatives like us at a space, in between.

*Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid DBE RA was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries.