Parsons graduate, designer Simone Khambatta says she had always been a skinny girl. Being thin in the head, and imagining what a large woman wanted was at best a guess. But when she was carrying her first child two years ago, Khambatta put on 28 kilos. She was suddenly dressing differently. "It changed my perspective. I understood how some women wanted to hide their arms, some, their tummy. I started designing clothes that I could wear myself."

It was one of these dresses, which she designed for her baby shower —a white star-print maxi—that turned Khambatta, 34, into a model for her brand. "People who saw me on Instagram wanted the same dress." She decided she'd expand the business into maternity wear. Now, she and famous friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, are the face of Simply Simone, inspiring would-be, and new mothers to dress stylish no matter what their size.