The Beth Ditto collection was as I expected. There is nothing shy or retiring about this plus size extravaganza.

Some expect the larger women to hide under black smocks and grey scale, and whilst there’s certainly black in the Ditto range – it comes in cropped biker jackets, sequins, and bold prints.

Though Evans has previously been a footnote on the high street fashion favourites, this collection is going to fly off the shelves, and the size eights and ten’s will just wear it baggy.

A new website www.bethdittoatevans.co.uk has been specifically created to drive traffic to the collection.

Going live from the 9th July the site contains streamed music (all the latest Gossip, of course), animated flash based light transitions between pages, as well as a “Backstage Pass” which will hold video content of the designer/star herself.

It will feature full-screen lookbook campaign shots by Rankin, including a share section that enables fans to download iphone desktops and screen savers. The domino countdown clock, in honour of her fabulous domino print scarves, has started. 

The site is all very interactive, aimed at the Beth Ditto fan-base age with links that can be shared via facebook and youtube. The site is kept fairly separate from the official Evans website, in hopes that they’ll attract a far larger amount of independent traffic.

I’m certain they will - there’s nothing about this collection that screams, “plus size” – only “fashion first”.

‘Grand Gossip - Beth Ditto for Evans’ by Amy Tipper-Hale