Boutique owner, 33
Why she's interesting: Rachel Kacenjar didn't think twice about buying the plus-size vintage Re/Dress boutique in New York when its owner wanted to sell in 2013. After moving the body-positive business to Tremont later that year and then relocating to Lakewood in August, the self-proclaimed "fat girl" now uses her store to host plus-size friendly yoga, modeling classes and celebrity events featuring supermodel Tess Holliday.
Pattern to Success: With old hoodies from the thrift store and material from Jo-Ann Fabric, 15-year-old Kacenjar and her friends created the Pritty Kitty Clothing Co. and even made a magazine to advertise their designs. "We made hippie stuff like big long smock dresses that had ties with straps. I took pictures of my friends in the clothes in my backyard and made a catalog that we would pass out at the mall."
Holliday Inn: Kacenjar and Holliday, who was named one of the top plus-size models in the world by Vogue Italia in 2013, are good pals. In 2014, Re/Dress held a Q&A and meet-and-greet with the model that drew 400 people. "We had to rent out the empty storefront next to us."
Kacenjar's favorite thing
What To WeaR: Capes, Dr. Martens and hats. "I like anytime something wild is adapted into the mainstream. I love when you see a normal accountant wearing a giant hat with lilies all over it. That's what I want to happen all of the time."
vacation days: Right now, she and her girlfriend, Dane, are obsessed with Alaskan cruises. "I want no Internet connectivity. I don't want to work at all."
Fashion Forward: Every year, she teaches a Parsons School of Design class about fashion lines creating plus-size clothes. "They still need to figure out how to make best-selling items. We're still in the phase where they're throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing if it sticks."
