*Naja, a lingerie brand from creative director Catalina Girald and actress Gina Rodriguez, is redefining the term “nude” — which has long referred only to pale tones — by offering a range of nude underwear, as modeled by 10 diverse women in these photos.
The brand’s “Nude for All” collection boasts seven shade options, from pale to dark, in different styles of bras and underwear. For shoppers unsure which tone is closest to their own, the site provides corresponding makeup shades from MAC, Nars, Bobbi Brown and L’Oreal so shoppers can compare.
The models in the ads are mostly sourced from social channels. The Nude #1 shade is worn by a Venezuelan ballerina from San Francisco and Nude #2 is modeled by a software engineer. Girald told The Huffington Post she picked powerful, confident women with influence in their community to further push the line’s message of diversity.
“To have a woman who is one of those positions thats traditionally seen as male, it was a great addition to telling our story,” she said.
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Girald said she was inspired to launch a range of nudes after watching U.S. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas’ routines.
“I noticed she was wearing a wrap on her ankle and it was that nude color we’re used to. It just stood out,” she said. “It has been relatively recent that we’ve seen black women in gymnastics, so I looked at it and it automatically struck me. I had never thought about that before.”
Girald launched Naja in 2014, with the brand starting with 23 color options for underwear, bringing in various women to sample the product.
“Over and over I would hear [from women trying on the underwear samples] how cool it was to see lingerie in their skin tone,” she said. “That’s how I knew this would be a really powerful project.”
The brand’s decision to use women who don’t typically work as models certainly had an impact on those involved, including Christine Minji Chang, who works as both an actress and the executive director of a non-profit that promotes diverse Asian-American artists.
“In the process of my work, I’ve come to understand the impact of damaging marketing and cultural norms, and how it has played a part in my journey as a woman, a person of color, a leader, an artist and just a human being,” Chang told HuffPost. “Being part of this campaign was pretty much the scariest thing I could’ve imagined for myself, getting down to my skivvies in public and doing it with confidence I’m still building up.”
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