Source: Courtesy of Matte Collection / Matte Collection
Matte Collection is undeniably a brand “for women, by women.” It exemplifies that every woman can look and feel good without breaking the bank while sporting minimalist attire. In addition, the brand is forward-thinking and places “body, shape, and style” at its forefront.
This is proven by the brand’s decision to embark on a Global Body Positivity campaign. “The purpose of this campaign is to show every woman that she can look good in swimwear no matter the shape, size, or style.”
Read as Justina, the founder and designer of the brand, shares why she felt now was the right time for the campaign, its decision to highlight Angela Simmons as an ambassador, and more.
Source: Courtesy of Matte Collection / Matte Collection
What inspired you and the Matte Collection to turn your attention towards body positivity and embark on this campaign?
Justina: The campaign is more so about timing. I think we kind of steer towards inclusivity and body positivity all around, and just in every shoot that we do, but to make it an actual campaign and highlight different body types and different nationalities – it was more so timing. It’s almost summertime, and I think it is when all women can go into panic mode – all you hear is women talking about how they need to get in the gym and get their bodies right for the summer. With that being said, I wanted to do something where women could see other women – beautiful women, different shapes, different sizes. Possibly see themselves in them and say, ‘Hey, if she has some curves and she can wear that, then I can too.’
So more or less, it was really to put the message out there that we don’t have to struggle so hard to fit into this unrealistic standard. We can accept ourselves as we are and put our swimsuits on and feel confident, feel happy, and know that we look good.
Matte Collection has partnered with and endorsed many beautiful celebrity women who’ve highlighted different collections and swimwear pieces, including Meagan Good, Ciara, and Lala. Why did you feel that Angela Simmons was the perfect ambassador for this Global Body Positivity Campaign? And what can lovers of the Matte Collection expect to see?
Justina: With Angela, if you look at her Instagram page, it was really a no-brainer. That’s Angela’s whole campaign on a daily basis. She lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes body positivity. So to me, it was like, who else would it be? That’s just who she is, so she was perfect for this.
And in regards to the collection – up until all of our bikinis have been sold as sets. So that means that if your proportions vary between your top and body, you most likely have to go with whatever general size will fit you the best. So with this campaign standing for body positivity and with us wanting to meet women where they are. We wanted to give them the option to choose what can best fit their bottom and what can best fit their top instead of putting them in a box where they feel like they can only pick one size.
Because you are the founder and designer of Matte Collection, your work and decisions play a huge role in how women feel when they wear your designs. How do you handle that pressure? And what feeling do you hope the Matte Collection brings to every woman who wears it?
Justina: I wouldn’t say there’s pressure. I might get a little frustrated sometimes, but I never feel pressure when I’m designing. My process usually includes taking a style, trying it on different body types, and seeing how it can be flattering on particular ones and not so much on others. I don’t get pressure. It’s just as simple as deciding whether I should modify the swimsuit to better fit certain body types or if I should make something similar with more or less coverage that’s more suitable to that body type and design.
When I do collections, I always make sure that there’s a piece for every separate body type. There may be a piece for a more sporty body type, another for a more curvy body type – but I always take the prints or colors that I’m using in that particular collection or line and bring it across for every body type.
As we get older as women, we become a lot easier on ourselves and a bit more realistic about our body image. If you had to give any advice to the younger generation of women that may be struggling with their body image, what would you say?
Justina: First, beyond body positivity and beyond confidence, you have to have love for yourself. So the first thing that you have to do is focus on the inner you. The more you focus on the inside and become the best you can be, the less you care what you look like on the outside. The second thing is once you build that inner confidence up, there won’t be a lot of things that people can say to you because, at the end of the day, you’ll know and believe that you are a great person. And once you have that, you’ll be able to reaffirm the importance of loving yourself and learn how to cut out naysayers.
The biggest thing I want women to know is that it doesn’t matter how beautiful other people think they are, everybody is struggling with something. So instead of focusing on how you look and what may be happening to you because of the way you look, understand that it is something that everyone deals with. And focus on being the best version of yourself, and that will undeniably build your confidence all around.
Matte Collection’s Global Body Positivity Campaign will officially launch in June!
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Matte Collection Unveils Its Global Body Positivity Campaign Just In Time For Summer was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
