Curvy Fox Founder, Christina Howell Takes People on a Virtual Vacation Through 'The Curvy Fox Virtual Cruise'

Female trailblazer, Christina Howell first came up with the idea to create a brand that would cater to plus-size and individuals when she herself noticed a gap in the swimsuit industry. In our current pandemic, Howell came up with the idea in light of National Virtual Vacation Day to build a unique, digital party so that attendees could experience a getaway they’d never forget. The concept called, The Curvy Fox Virtual Cruise included games, music, and gift card incentives! We caught up with her to discuss what inspired her brand, Curvy Fox and the idea to create The Curvy Fox Virtual Cruise.

Tell us what inspired the creation of Curvy Fox.

I always felt like an afterthought as a plus-sized millennial. Whenever I went into retailers, they either didn’t service me as a customer or the styles that they had were tailored to older women. There was nothing trendy about the styles. I wanted to offer something different. Instead of a brand, I wanted to offer a community for other plus-sized millennial like myself who feel like we’re pushed to the back burner when it comes to beauty, fashion, and lifestyle things. I wanted to bring those things to the forefront and say, “Hey, you’re not alone, I felt the same way, so here is something for you.”

In the midst of social distancing, can you tell us about The Curvy Fox Virtual Cruise?

The Curvy Fox Virtual Cruise was a way to offer an hour escape to say “Hey, let me not focus on what’s going on in the world right now but let me stop, laugh, and be present in the moment.” Although the situation may be bad, we’re okay. Things could be better, but we can all still laugh and have fun! Even if it’s just a moment in virtuality. March 30th was National Virtual Vacation Day. We recognized our first responders and doctors but we also wanted to say that yes, we know a lot is going on right now but let’s take a moment to take a virtual vacation. It’s what we wish we were doing instead of dealing with the pandemic.

We kicked it off with a virtual pool party on Instagram Live! I went live on our Instagram with one of our pieces. We asked people to dress up and tag us in photos. Some people went all out. Some attendees turned their living room into a beach with beach balls (laughs). It was so fun, we played games, and we awarded a total of $500 each night to a few attendees during the virtual game night and the Virtual Pool Party. Some people have really been affected so we wanted to do something to let people know that Curvy Fox has your back.

Do you plan on expanding the cruise and doing more of them?

I think it’s definitely something we’re looking into doing. Carnival cruise ships are sent out every four days (laughs). We’re thinking about possibly sending a new ship out with different activities. For Thursday and Friday events, we featured both The Pretty Martini and Chef Justin of Just In Case Catering on Curvy Fox’s Instagram LIVE.

What can we expect to see from Curvy Fox in the future?

We’re going to continue to push the barriers as far as offering trendy styles for women sizes 6-24. We’re going to continue to offer the lifestyle community where it’s not about selling a swimsuit, it’s about the support to our subscribers and our followers. We want to be the brand where we can talk about anything. We want to continue to be trailblazers for the plus size communities.