YET ANOTHER REASON FOR YOU TO LOVE LIZZO
As the pop star launches her own shapewear line, PRUDENCE WADE explains why it’s important
SHE’S a three-time Grammy winner, a chart-topping singer and performer and now Lizzo is adding another string to her bow by launching a shapewear brand.
The 33-year-old’s new line YITTY is all about inclusivity and caters to sizes from XS to 6X.
Shapewear has traditionally had a somewhat unglamorous reputation but that has recently changed, largely thanks to
Kim Kardashian.
Her Skims shapewear line has been wildly popular since it launched in 2019.
Now it looks like Lizzo is planning to compete for Kim’s crown.
“Instead of thinking about size in this linear way, we’re thinking about it on a spectrum where everyone is included. Everyone’s size is just their size. It’s not high, it’s not low. It’s not big, it’s not small. It’s just your size,” Lizzo explains.
This is a massive statement, and feels like it goes against everything we’ve been taught. Even though we logically know the same size can look different in different shops, who among us hasn’t felt bad about themselves when something doesn’t fit, even though it’s our ‘normal’ size?
Created in collaboration with Kate Hudson’s Fabletics, YITTY – which takes its name from a childhood nickname of Lizzo’s – will launch with three drops.
The ‘Nearly Naked’ collection is all about light, seamless undergarments, ‘Mesh Me’ will be “smoothing mesh styles that blend fashion with function, designed to wear as underwear or outerwear”, and finally ‘Major Label’ is a collection of everyday pieces.
Lizzo told us more about the ethos of the brand on Instagram, writing: “This is *not* an invitation to change who you are... this is an opportunity to BE who you are on your terms. I don’t know about y’all- but I’m sick of people telling me how I’m supposed to look and feel about my body. I’m tired of discomfort being synonymous with sexy. If it’s uncomfortable TAKE IT OFF. And if it makes you feel good PUT IT ON.”
According to statistics gathered by the Mental Health Foundation in 2019, over a third of adults said they have felt anxious or depressed because of their body image over the previous year, while one in five adults and a staggering 40% of teenagers say images on social media “caused them to worry about their body image”.
Whether it’s proudly showing off her curves on Instagram or in her new Amazon show, Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, where she hunts for plus-size women to be her backup dancers, Lizzo is one of the most prominent body positivity activists in the public eye.
But she is not immune to the trolls and broke down on Instagram after being on the receiving end of what she called fatphobic and racist abuse.
While body diversity in fashion is improving, the runways and our Instagram feeds are still
predominantly full of slim bodies – and
YITTY shows there is an alternative: for seeing and appreciating all bodies, just as they are. ■ YITTY is available now on YITTY.com, as well as Fabletics. co.uk. Prices range from £14.95- 69.95 (£11.40-£53.30) for VIP Members.