CELEBRITY INFLUENCE Curves ahead! Latina performers figure on clothes for larger sizes

Hispanics, the fast-growing minority in America, have potent buying power.
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Jennifer Lopez with her J-Lo brand was among the first. Then Thalia Sodi's fashion line opened at Kmart. And now Daisy Fuentes, who is collaborating with Kohl's, is the latest celebrity to launch a clothing line.
They are among the Latina performers jumping into the apparel business, and they can hardly go wrong, says Erika Prosper, who tracks trends for Garcia360, a San Antonio marketing consulting company.
For one thing, Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority in the United States, and they have considerable purchasing power. Second, these celebrities tend to have curvy bodies, so their clothes are designed to fit sizes beyond the standard fashion collections.
Full-figure emphasis
There are lots of full-figured women out there. The designers for celebrity lines want silhouettes that show off the bodies but also accommodate larger sizes. The clothes fit the body but "swing out to hide the flaws" at the bottom, Prosper says.
Another plus is that celebrities bring instant recognition. Fans, everyday women, want to dress like someone they think is cool. And among the current selections, each performer brings a specific personal style.
Thalia, whose line includes colorful sexy tops, offers hot colors inspired by the film "Havana Nights." Fuentes, a former model and television personality, brings a sleek, sophisticated aesthetic to the picture. "And she has a full body," Prosper says. "If she designs for herself, she designs for us," she says in a newsletter.
The danger, of course, is that when the spotlight fades, the clothes could lose favor. Perhaps the best plan is to seize the moment.