New York ? The tagline for a new documentary film called “Curve” about plus-size modeling is, “You don’t need to be a size 2 to be a perfect 10.”

It’s with that same confident attitude that designers and retailers are planning for a spring full of highly fashionable plus-size styles.

Lane Bryant customers want the same options in their wardrobe that their missy-size peers have just in different sizes, says company president Diane Missell.

The evolution of the industry from shapeless dresses to formfitting fashion is happening and will continue to happen because of “pure economics,” says “Curve” producer and director Constantine Valhouli. Even at the missy-size level, he observes, “the 8s, 10s and 12s vanish from stores while the size 2s are left.”

According to Valhouli’s research, 62 percent of American women wear size 12 and up. Offering stylish clothes in larger styles is a win-win situation, since the market demand is there and it will make women feel better about themselves.

“One of the girls (in ‘Curve’) said it breaks her heart when she sees something in a magazine and she realizes she’ll never wear it unless she has it custom made,” he says.

That’s not the case this season if plus-size customers covet low-slung jeans, corset-style tops, peasant blouses and flat-front pinstripe pants.

Adjusting attitudes

At the recent Lane Bryant runway show, the largest retailer of plus-size fashion sent out very hip looks to correspond with the top trends. The collection was influenced by rock ‘n’ roll, gypsy chic and 1940s pinup glamour.

Lane Bryant customers want the same options in their wardrobe that their missy-size peers have just in different sizes, says Diane Missell, the company president.

But creating fashions for women who wear larger sizes isn’t simply about making larger garments, notes designer Carmen Marc Valvo, who is introducing the Carmen Marc Valvo Women label.

“You cannot take a direct translation from missy sizes,” says Valvo, who specializes in eveningwear, because adjustments need to be made to the bust, armhole and button positions to match different proportions.

Before committing to the Women label, which will be in Saks Fifth Avenue stores this summer, Valvo attempted to do some research. “I visited eight Saks stores over the course of one year. I wanted to see what this woman already had to choose from … which was nothing,” he says.

And, he says, if possible, there was less than nothing for the plus-size woman who wanted to wear something sexy.

“Just because someone is a little bigger, it doesn’t mean they want to be covered up,” Valvo says.

“There are two types: the woman who says ‘Oh no, my arms are fat’ and the woman who says ‘I look fabulous’ and is comfortable with her own body,” he adds. Some self-conscious women wear size 2, others wear a 20, and the same goes for self-confident women.

Valvo says he hopes his collection of cocktail dresses offered with a sheer chiffon coat, slim-fitting beaded capri pants and dressy sweaters will appeal to both.

“What we’re selling is the idea that you can look good at any size,” says Tom Rail, senior vice president of Torrid, a Los Angeles-based retailer spun off from junior-size specialty store Hot Topic.

Targeting teens

Both Torrid and Hot Topic offer clothes inspired primarily by music and pop culture, and target customers between 15 and 29.

“We’re not encouraging obesity but we’re not obsessed with thinness. We’re promoting being healthy with healthy self-esteem,” says Rail.

“If you look at 15- to 21-year-olds’ shopping habits, you’ll see they shop at the mall with their friends,” explains Rail. But, he adds, until recently, larger-size teen-agers could only window shop while wearing the elastic-waist pants that a trendy store would never carry.

For plus-size teens in particular, being able to wear the same low-waisted pants or boot-cut jeans as their friends not only affects their wardrobes, it affects their attitude. For spring, Torrid’s trendy offerings include off-the-shoulder and peasant tops, gingham-check prints and a lot of black and white.

Gingham also figures prominently into Just My Size’s newest collection, which adds casualwear to the intimate apparel and hosiery brand. Just My Size’s selection of five-pocket stretch jeans also has expanded to offer a choice of lengths (petite, average and tall), three different washes and in a new capri silhouette.

“Just My Size has long been known as an expert in fit because we truly understand that dressing the full-figured woman is not about sizing up, but understanding how to flatter and celebrate her curves,” says senior brand manager Amy Wilder.