“Beginning again is not the same as starting over.”
Whew. Kristine Thompson knew exactly what she was saying with that one.
KIN by Kristine is officially back, and for those of us who have watched Kristine build her place in plus size fashion over the years, this relaunch feels especially full circle.
As the founder and editor-in-chief of The Curvy Fashionista, I have spent nearly two decades watching, reporting on, championing, and occasionally side-eyeing the evolution of plus size fashion. I have seen brands come, go, expand, shrink their size ranges, promise us the world, and sometimes act like the plus size customer just appeared yesterday.
And Kristine’s story is one we have actually watched unfold.
TCF covered the original KIN by Kristine launch back in 2019. We came back when she followed it with another collection. We have watched Trendy Curvy grow, watched Kristine build her voice as a creator and entrepreneur, and watched her continue to show plus size women that style was never something we had to earn by changing our bodies.
So, when she announced that KIN was returning September 9, 2026, in an expanded US size range of 10–32, right as New York Fashion Week was kicking into gear?
Oh, we were paying attention.
Because this is not somebody dusting off an old logo and calling it a comeback.
Kristine is returning to an idea she believed in, armed with everything the first chapter taught her.
And baby, that is a very different kind of beginning.
KIN by Kristine Enters Its New Era
Ahead of the relaunch, Kristine shared a little of what it took to get back here.
“KIN’s first chapter began with a sample I sewed myself using skills my mother taught me,” she wrote. “It grew from packing orders in our home to being carried by Nordstrom and eventually became one of the hardest, most rewarding lessons of my life.”
That alone gives you a sense of how personal KIN has always been.
The first time around, Kristine built the brand with, as she describes it, “vision and determination.”
This time?
There is more experience. More intention. A team. A clearer understanding of what she wants the brand to become.
“Everything we learned brought us here,” she shared.
That part matters.
Fashion loves a shiny launch story, but entrepreneurship is rarely that neat. Sometimes a good idea needs room to evolve. Sometimes you learn what you could not have known the first time. Sometimes you have to step away before you can see clearly what you want to build next.
And sometimes you come back.
Not from zero.
From experience.
If You Were Here for the Original KIN, You Already Know
For our longtime TCF readers, KIN by Kristine is not new-new.
Kristine originally launched the label in 2019 after years of building Trendy Curvy, the style platform she founded in 2013.
By then, her community had spent years coming to her for outfit ideas, styling inspiration, and answers to that forever-question:
“Where did you get that?”
Eventually, Kristine realized she wanted to offer another answer.
Her own line.
The original KIN collection debuted with seven pieces in sizes 14–26, with colorful dresses and separates that reflected the polished, feminine, statement-making style her audience already associated with Trendy Curvy.
Then in 2020 came Printed Paradise, another collection that continued building out the KIN point of view.
And behind the scenes, the business was growing too, eventually landing at Nordstrom.
So when Kristine says this is not “starting over,” she means it.
There is history here.
And This Time, the Size Range Got Bigger
One of the first things we noticed about the new KIN by Kristine?
The Fall 2026 collection is available in US sizes 10–32, or approximately 0X–5X depending on the piece.
The original collection launched in sizes 14–26; seeing KIN return with a broader range feels particularly notable at a time when the plus size fashion market has been giving us enough size-range whiplash to last several seasons.
Because while some brands have been quietly pulling back, Kristine came back and made the table longer.
We love to see it.
And that decision lines up perfectly with the message behind this version of the brand.
“We were never the problem. The clothes were,” Kristine wrote while teasing KIN’s return.
“For more than a decade, women have asked me how to make clothes work for their bodies. Then I realized we were solving the wrong problem.”
There it is.
The body was never the design flaw.
So What Is In the Fall 2026 KIN by Kristine Collection?
Now let’s get into these clothes because Kristine did not come back after all this time to give us three basics and a motivational quote.
The Fall 2026 assortment includes dresses, jackets, skirts, tops, trousers, matching sets, sweatshirts, accessories—pieces that are clearly intended to talk to one another in your closet.
KIN has organized the collection around wardrobe categories like Foundation, Balance, Statement, Elevate,<b> and Ease, which we find especially interesting.
Instead of just saying “here is a top,” “here is a skirt,” the brand thinks about each piece’s role in your wardrobe:Is it your statement piece?
Is it what you reach for when comfort is non-negotiable but you still want to look pulled together?
That feels very on-brand for Kristine.
If you have followed Trendy Curvy for any amount of time you know she does not just wear clothes.
She styles them.
She understands proportion. Layering. Balance. The power of a jacket. The difference between something fitting your body and something actually being designed to complement it.
You can see that thinking throughout the new collection.
The Crocodile Jacket Said “Yes You Will Be Looking at Me”
The Leopard Set Is Absolutely Going to Start Something
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KIN by Kristine Fall _2026 Foundation Contour Top and Flare Skirt at KINbyKristine.com
The Wrap Dress Is Back
KIN Is Designing Around The Shopper Not Asking The Shopper To Figure It Out
The Family Story Behind KIN By Kristina Too
The Timing Feels Fitting
This Is What Beginning Again Can Look Like
The KIN By Kristina Fall Collection Is Available Now In US Sizes At KinbyKristina.Com
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