Universal Standard, a women’s fashion brand that offers sizes from 00 to 40, is introducing a holiday collection with entrepreneur, model and inclusivity advocate Lauren Chan on Thursday.
When Universal Standard acquired Chan’s company Henning in 2023, Chan stayed on to serve as head of brand partnerships.
Chan began her career as a fashion writer, and became a features editor at Glamour, where she oversaw the fashion team. In addition to editing, Chan designed 10 collections for the Glamour x Lane Bryant collaboration. She went on to launch Henning, her own brand of luxury plus-size clothing, in 2019, dressing such people as Ashley Graham and Stacey Abrams, before selling to Universal Standard.
Universal Standard’s holiday collection features eight styles, spanning tailoring, fluid cupro, vegan leather and faux fur. It’s Chan’s take on holiday dressing with pieces meant to look as luxe as possible and make the woman feel powerful, seductive and considered. The apparel carries the Universal Standard label.
Chan created the collection with Universal Standard’s chief creative officer Ramon Martin. It started with a shared vision for a tuxedo suit inspired by 1970s Yves Saint Laurent. Chan helped shape the pieces throughout fittings, including turning a midi dress into a floor-length gown she’d wear to a holiday party and a wedding. Masculine and feminine dressing come together in the line, which retails for $228 to $388.
“Universal Standard and I have long history,” said Chan. She noted that the founders, Polina Veksler and the late Alexandra Waldman, pitched her in a deskside meeting during her time as an editor at Glamour and hosted a pop-up for her Henning brand in their New York City space. In addition, she has modeled for past collections and the brand ultimately acquired her company.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve made any clothing, and with the inclusive fashion space diminishing, I feel like it’s an important time to bring these pieces to market. When Ramon and I started talking about the holiday collection, we wanted it to have elements of Henning like strong suiting, nods to their hit fabrics like cupro and sexy feminine styles as well. We intend for these pieces to make folks feel powerful and chic as they wrap up their year — and as they rewear them time and time again,” said Chan.
“In the plus-size market, customers often have to sacrifice quality for aesthetic or vice versa. These pieces feel as good as they look — and the design remains the same across the whole size range,” she said.
Her favorite pieces are the cropped tuxedo jacket with satin lapels, matching wide-leg pants and the black high-neck ruffled back dress. She said the pieces were designed with “an evergreen aesthetic” so they can be styled a multitude of ways and it fits everyone well.
Chan emphasized that this is not a plus-size collection.
“It’s size inclusive,” she said. “Customers like myself who wear above a standard size range don’t want to be treated differently than our smaller peers. We want access to the same garments that ‘fashion’ is currently excited about. I feel like I have said this on a loop for over a decade, but it bears repeating — now more than ever as plus-size clothing options dwindle. I know that clothing can be made well for everyone. I spent a pivotal part of my career proving that, and I’m very happy to continue to shine a light on Universal Standard, which never wavered in this philosophy.”
While this holiday 2026 collection is stand-alone, it follows the 2024 Henning x Universal Standard drop.
Chan made history as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s first openly lesbian and person of Chinese descent to grace its cover in 2025. More recently, she has been creating buzz with her turn on Season Two of “Heated Rivalry,” where she plays Gen, a Quebecois professional photographer for the Ottawa Centaurs, a fictional professional hockey team.
