Rumor Has It: Designers Cutting Back on Plus Size Clothing

Rumor has it that designers and clothing manufacturers are cutting back on making plus size clothing.
Cutting back by offering less in the size ranges 1x-3x and 14 - 16.
If the actual average size of the American woman is size 16, then I say, wtf??
As a former editor of BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) I had to go on advertising sales calls to potential advertisers.
Sadly, the demographics at that time, 91-95, indicated that overweight women were in lower paid jobs with less discretionary income. So in spite of say, a company that wants to sell sunscreen or body lotion, and my readers would by default use almost 2x as much due to their size, the companies usually declined to advertise.
We relied on clothing companies to place ads in the magazine.
I don't know if those demographics are true today, with the rise in obesity rates and the high numbers of citizens who are just overweight vs obese.
But I do know this. I've cut back on clothing purchases because I don't like the styles offered in my size, and right now, depending on where I shop and how the item is made, I wear a department store XL, a Lane Bryant 14, a regular size 16 and 18, and there's something in my closet that's an 18W. No wonder women aren't buying anything. The sheer effort to find anything that fits, no matter what size you wear, is a bore. And check out this drab, dowdy shirt made by DKNY for $99.00! Why would any of us pay $100 dollars for a shirt that looks like a budget offering from a cheap catalog. This looks like a shirt you would do housework in.
I heard Donna Karan got fat. A designer friend told me, but I haven't checked it out.
I'd love to work with her on the plus size division. It should be item driven, not a collection. Lots of classic pieces always available. That was her original concept.
I had a pair of DKNY cotton wide leg draw string pants that were fabulous, in fact a friend gave them to me, I wore them for ten years, and I just passed them on to a friend. They are suitably aged! That pant was from Donna's first foray years ago and then the collection dumbed down and it didn't survive at retail.