"Empire Waist Review: A Heartwarming Tale of Style, Strength, and Sisterhood"

 Wayfarer Studios and American High have consistently been providing quality teen entertainment in the past few years. From Five Feet Apart and Clouds for the former and Crush and Plan B for the latter, I was excited to see both logos pop up at the beginning of Empire Waist. Luckily, I was not disappointed, as the film proves a welcome addition to both companies’ catalog of films.

What Is ‘Empire Waist’ About?

Empire Waist follows Lenore (Mia Kaplan), a teen girl who’s essentially invisible at school — and likes it that way. Bigger than most of her classmates, she’s a prime target for bullies like mean girl Sylvie (Isabella Pisacane). Instead of attempting to make friends, Lenore plays it safe and embraces her loner status, avoiding eye contact and spending all of her time sketching outfits. Her home life isn’t the easiest either. While her quirky dad (Rainn Wilson) is supportive, her mom (Missi Pyle) constantly works out and goes on intense diets, putting pressure on Lenore to do the same.

Lenore’s life changes, however, when she’s paired up with Kayla (Jemima Yevu) for a class project. Though Kayla’s also plus-sized, she has no interest in hiding anything about herself. Confident and charismatic, Kayla eventually gets Lenore out of her shell, even encouraging her to enter a competitive fashion design showcase. The two enlist the school outcasts as models, including the queer and disabled Marcy (Daisy Washington), shy and petite Diamond (Kassandra Tellez), and trans tall girl Tina (Holly McDowell). Though they’re a diverse group, they all have one thing in common: They can’t seem to find any clothes they like that fit them. Lenore is able to make her new friends feel empowered with the outfits she makes, and in the process, she slowly starts to gain some self-esteem, too.