In a world that too often reduces plus size visibility to who we see in front of the camera, Curvy Boss Spotlight exists to widen the lens.
This series celebrates the dynamic, brilliant, audacious plus size professionals making things move, shake, and shift across industries. Founders. Executives. Stylists. Educators. Creatives. Change agents.
Because representation is not just about being seen in campaigns. It is about seeing ourselves in leadership.
We say it often because it remains true, we cannot be what we cannot see.
And this week’s spotlight reminds us exactly why this series matters.
When you think of fashion and entertainment in Atlanta, one name carries weight, history, and undeniable impact: Paula Whittle.
And honestly, “trailblazer” almost feels too small.
For nearly two decades, Atlanta International Fashion Week founder Paula Whittle has been doing what true visionaries do, building what didn’t yet exist, then daring everyone else to imagine bigger because she did.
Long before Atlanta’s fashion ecosystem carried the global credibility it does today, Paula was investing in the idea that the city could be a legitimate international fashion destination. Not aspirationally. Actually.
She wasn’t waiting for an invitation into fashion history.
She was writing her own chapter.
With more than 350 shows produced, over 500 designers represented, fashion from 19 countries showcased, and nearly two decades of cultural impact tied to her name, Paula Whittle has built more than an event.
She has built an institution.
And like so many women who create legacy, she started with something much quieter than acclaim.
She started with vision.
A Vision Bigger Than Fashion, A Calling Bigger Than Business
When Paula talks about how this journey began, she does not begin with ambition.
She begins with purpose.
“God gave me a vision to provide a platform for aspiring talent and to mentor the next generation of trendsetters.”
That answer tells you almost everything you need to know about how she moves.
Because for Paula, fashion has never simply been about presentation.
It has been about platform.
That distinction matters.
A platform lifts people. A platform creates access. A platform outlives trends.
And through Atlanta International Fashion Week, Paula built one that has done all three.
What stands out in her story is how much of her leadership has been rooted not in chasing prestige, but in creating opportunity. Atlanta International Fashion Week was never positioned as spectacle for spectacle’s sake. It became a connector between emerging talent and global exposure, between Atlanta’s creative pulse and international fashion dialogue.
That is ecosystem work.
And Paula has been doing it before many people even had language for it.
Her daily rhythm reflects that grounding.
Prayer.
Meditation.
Meetings.
Proposals.
Strategy.
But beneath all of it is something deeper.
Calling.
As she puts it, “I own the space by becoming who God called me to be and do. Take charge and lead a purpose-driven life.”
That is not branding language. That is belief.
And perhaps that’s why her impact feels so layered.
It was never built just to impress… It was built to endure.
Building What Didn’t Exist, Then Becoming the Guide Others Needed
One of the most moving things Paula says in this interview comes when talking about representation.
Because instead of discussing visibility, she talks about guidance.
“Representation means to have a guide. In the industry, I didn’t have that. Just me and God. He is my Guide and spokesperson.”
Whew! There is so much inside that. Especially for anyone who has ever had to build without precedent.
Without mentorship. Without roadmap. Without seeing themselves reflected in the room.
Paula knows that experience intimately. And maybe because she came up without a guide, she became one. That may be one of the most powerful threads in her legacy.
Not simply that she built a fashion week. But that she has used that platform to mentor hundreds.
Launch careers. Open doors. Create pathways.
Through her nonprofit Fashion Apprentice, Paula has spent years investing in young girls interested in fashion, helping them see possibility where they may have only seen limits. Through her “Beauty & A Makeover” initiative, she has brought dignity and care to underserved and homeless communities.
That work is not separate from her fashion work.
It is the soul of it.
When Paula says, “We make sure they feel seen inside and out,” she is talking about beauty, yes.
But she is also talking about worth.
That has always been part of her blueprint.
Not simply elevating fashion.
Elevating people.
And that may be why so many in Atlanta regard her not just as an event producer, but as a community builder.
Those are not the same thing.
And Paula has always been doing the latter.
From Paralysis to Power, How Faith Shaped Paula Whittle’s Resilience
There is a point in Paula’s story where admiration becomes something else.
Something deeper.
Because while building all of this, she was also navigating autoimmune disease and severe spinal complications that moved her from paralysis, to wheelchair, to walking again.
Most people would have let survival be enough.
Paula kept building.
“I had several medical challenges that tried to hinder work performance, but I relied on the faith and power in God to bring me from paralyzed to wheelchair to walking.”
Read that slowly.
Because that changes how you read everything before it.
Every accolade. Every event. Every milestone.
They carry different weight now. Because they were not built from ease. They were built through pain. And somehow, through all of that, she remained expansive.
Forward-looking. Generative.
That kind of resilience cannot be manufactured… It is lived. And in Paula’s case, it seems inseparable from faith.
Faith not as abstraction. Faith as fuel.
There is something profoundly moving about a woman whose body faced limitation, but whose vision kept expanding.
That is power. Quiet, disciplined, spiritual power.
And it runs through everything she touches.
“Create the Trend. Become the Look.” Paula Whittle on Confidence, Style, and Self-Definition
Ask Paula about confidence and she goes inward before she goes outward.
“Self confidence is found in God first… Once we know who we are and whose we are, we can own that. The beauty on the inside will exude on the outside. That’s true beauty.”
That answer feels almost like a philosophy of living.
Not performance.
Not image.
Identity.
And perhaps that’s why her style advice lands so hard.
Because it carries the same self-possession.
“Own your style. Own who you are. Create the trend. Become the look.”
Honestly?
That deserves framing.
Because what she’s really saying is don’t chase permission.
Author yourself.
Which, if we’re honest, describes her career too.
Paula Whittle did not follow a fashion blueprint.
She became one.
Purpose Over Popularity, Why Paula Whittle Leads With Calling, Not Clout
There is so much noise around ambition right now.
Hustle mythology.
Visibility obsession.
Performance disguised as leadership.
Paula cuts through all of it.
When asked what advice she would give someone stepping boldly into purpose, she says:
“Find your purpose. Own it. Study it. Seek wisdom. Become the expert and work it. Let God lead you.”
That is grown-woman wisdom.
Seasoned wisdom.
And it feels refreshing precisely because it is not trendy.
It is true.
There is no clout chasing in how Paula talks about leadership.
Only stewardship.
And maybe that is why her legacy has lasted nearly twenty years.
Because purpose outlives hype.
Every time.
Building Legacy by Helping Others Win
My favorite answer in the entire interview came from a simple question.
How do you celebrate a win?
Paula answered:
“Help someone else to win.”
That is not a throwaway line.
That is an ethos.
And maybe the clearest articulation of what makes Paula Whittle extraordinary.
She has never treated success as possession.
She treats it as something to circulate.
To multiply.
To share.
That is legacy thinking.
And that is rare.
As she looks ahead to global expansion and the 19th anniversary of Atlanta International Fashion Week this September, it feels clear Paula is not slowing down.
She is still building.
Still mentoring.
Still expanding.
Still making things pop and shake.
Exactly the kind of Curvy Boss we created this series to honor.
Why Paula Whittle’s Story Matters Right Now
Because stories like Paula’s remind us leadership doesn’t only wear one shape.
Sometimes it looks like faith.
Sometimes it looks like survival.
Sometimes it looks like creating an institution no one imagined possible.
And sometimes it looks like helping someone else win.
Paula Whittle has done all of the above.
And in doing so, she has built more than a fashion week.
She has built proof.
Proof that plus size professionals belong at the helm.
Proof that purpose can build legacy.
Proof that one woman’s vision can change a city.
That is Curvy Boss energy.
And that deserves spotlight.
Want to Be Featured Next?
Are you a plus size entrepreneur, founder, executive, creative, or professional making your mark?
Apply or nominate someone for our Curvy Boss Spotlight.
And if you’re a plus size model, influencer, or creator, we have feature opportunities for you too through our Plus Model and Plus Influencer Spotlights.
Because every lane of this community deserves visibility.
And your story may be the one someone else needs to see.
