Proclaim was born from the frustrating experience of shopping for the perfect nude bra as a woman of color. Anyone who has gone through this has probably realized the same thing we did; the fashion industry has a narrow definition of the color “nude” and it does not include millions of women.
When I was asked to take part in representing the new nude lingerie company, Proclaim, I was both flattered to be asked and in awe of how the founder Shobha Philips was putting this whole campaign together. She brought together 6 gorgeous women of different ethnicities and types of bodies to showcase her new company lingerie Proclaim. A Lingerie Company! Not exactly your typical representation! She is pushing boundaries on fashion and changing peoples minds on what nude should look like. Not only do they have 3 beautiful different color tones, but all of the bras are made here in San Francisco and from a fabric that was once plastic bottles. We here at Melanie Abrantes Designs are always supporting sustainability and especially in a world of fast fashion. So I knew, even as uncomfortable posing in a bra would be hah, that this was a company I had the full support of!
See more images from the shoot and learn more about Proclaim below!
“As a woman of South Asian descent, I’ve always been aware of this color called nude that did not include me or millions of women in its narrow definition. It was frustrating trying to find the perfect undergarment for a white dress or lightweight top. It didn’t exist in my nude. In starting Proclaim, I wanted to address the lack of diversity and inclusion in fashion in a way that felt authentic to my own values as a conscious consumer. ”
BRAS FROM BOTTLES
Our fabric is made out of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic water bottles and is manufactured in the USA. Plastic water bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is BPA-free. In the recycling process, the bottles are sterilized and turned into small flakes. These flakes are then heated and spun to form strings of yarn which are knit into our recycled polyester (rPET) fabric. These fibers are certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) for recycled content claims and have received the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification, ensuring that they are free of harmful levels of more than 100 restricted chemicals.
By using recycled polyester we are diverting plastic from landfills, where bottles are estimated to take up to 400 years to decompose. In addition, we are reducing the reliance on natural resources such as petroleum which are used to make virgin polyester.
