For what seems like an eternity, flesh-tone underwear had been relegated to taupe, beige and maybe mauve. Whose skin is really any of those colors?
Catalina Girald, CEO and founder of Naja, created an intimate apparel line that strips down the one-hue-fits-all fantasy. Because women's bodies are a myriad of shapes and sizes, Naja's Nude for All collection offers seven shades of flesh-tone, seamless bras (32A-40DDD) and panties (XS-XXL).
Interestingly, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas inspired the collection. "I saw Gabby competing years ago and noticed that she had a wrap on her ankle that didn't match her skin tone. That stood out," Girald said. "It dawned on me then that people of different colors didn't have items to match their skin."
It took a while to gather funding then launch the brand, but Girald insists that "it was a big idea" and wanted to make sure it was right. Fast forward two years later and the brand offers a bevy of foundation pieces including traditional bras, bralettes, bustiers, briefs, thongs, cheeky panties and more. The Nude for All is the most recent addition.
Because of the variety of shades in the Nude for All collection, Girald anticipated that darker skinned women would be attracted to the brand, leading to a need to replenish the inventory. But that wasn't the case. According to Girald, "The two sizes to run out first were nude numbers one and two. That was mostly the white girl color. Nude number one is a rare color in the market because it's very, very light, so there must be a lot of white women that were not finding their exact shade of nude. It's kind of the opposite of what I expected to happen. I thought the dark shades would certainly go first."
Besides bras and panties, Girald is developing a collection of nude swimwear and activewear. The aforementioned collections are still in the test phase, but already, there is excitement for nude swimsuits based on market testing.
According to Girald, beauty is integral to the Naja brand. "One cool thing about the nude collection, which is similar to everything else that we make, is that the interior features a bright, colorful print and the outside is nude. The whole idea is that beauty is on the inside as well as the outside."
Naja products are currently only available online at naja.co. Panties are $18-22 and bras are $52. "It was important that the price point would be accessible to [all consumers]," Girald said.
The price point is one thing that should fit all — budgets, not bodies.
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