Lizzo is discussing the contents of her underwear drawer.
There are low-cut bralettes, high-waisted panties, bodysuits, and thongs in shades of neon lime green and pink, as well as black, brown, nude, and white under things. The assortment is a new collection called Smoothed Reality, part of the singer’s Yitty fashion label. It’s also the first time the shapewear, activewear and loungewear business has ventured fully into intimates with its own collection. The assortment is falling this month.
Bras and underwear from Yitty’s new Smoothed Reality collection. courtesy photo
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“I’ve been using it for a while because luckily I can use all the prototypes and stuff,” Lizzo told WWD by phone from her home in Los Angeles. “I wear Yitty every day on tour. It’s wild I don’t even have to pack anything anymore cause I just throw Yitty [in a suitcase]. I wear my Yitty shapewear on stage. I have my Yitty jumpsuits that I wear in the first half of the show. After the show, I’m at Pet Me by Yitty. I’m on my main label when I work out. Like, I’m just in the Yitty verse, completely.”
A bodysuit from Yitty’s Smoothed Reality collection. courtesy photo
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She is not the only one. Fans all over the world are tapping into Lizzo’s Yitty universe in any way they can, whether it’s through her albums, concerts, reality show, the documentary “Love, Lizzo” or the fashion label Yitty, which according to she is “completely exhausted, all the time, from everything.” .”
It’s no surprise then that the Grammy-winning singer is busy. Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, has just returned from New York, where she made her second musical appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” She’s also on tour, promoting her upcoming album (slated for summer 2023) and growing her Yitty brand of hers. But she was able to spare 10 minutes to chat with WWD about the brand’s latest expansion plans.
Lizzo’s “Love, Lizzo” Documentary on HBO Max Premieres in November 2022
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“We’re basically going to offer the chill version of Nearly Naked,” Lizzo said. “I want to use something for my day to day [outfit], You know? So, I thought, we have to do something that’s, like, you know, the sister to Nearly Naked, where we have this high compression, that holds you back, all of that. But now we need something that’s, like, smoother, softer and like, when you just want to put on a bra and panties.”
Yitty’s expansion comes at an interesting time. After nearly three years of underwear lockdowns and consumers buying little more than stay-at-home bras and underwear, and nearly every major fashion house (and some famous brands, too) selling their underwear, consumers have never had more options to choose from in the intimate category. Some critics say that there is no room left in the market for new players. At the same time, sportswear continues to be a trend. And the return of face-to-face events puts shapewear back in the spotlight.
Pieces from Yitty’s new Smoothed Reality collection. courtesy photo
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Lizzo, who co-founded Yitty (named after her childhood nickname) in March 2022 with Fabletics Inc., parent company of Kate Hudson’s sportswear brand Fabletics, said it was “on time.”
“I don’t think you can say that the market is oversaturated with shapewear,” he said. “When I first attended shapewear meetings, there were only maybe three or four brands. Comparatively to, like, other types of clothing [categories] that’s relatively small. So, I feel like Yitty came at the perfect time.”
Lizzo, top center, co-founded the underwear brand Yitty in early 2022. Photo courtesy of yitty.com
He added that current demand for the product is so high that he hasn’t considered selling the brand or merging with a larger company to help scale.
“I don’t think that’s necessary right now,” Lizzo said. “Yitty is doing a fabulous job right now, on our own. And Yitty just started, so I think I just want to focus on my brand right now.
“Yitty is basically a dream in the making,” the entrepreneur continued. “I feel like, you know, I always had to make my way in the fashion world. I always had to have people make outfits for me, because I had so many clothes that fit me. And I have a lot of ideas that I want to execute that, you know, just didn’t exist. So when Yitty started, it was more like, I need to do something for myself. I need to like it… I want to make a product that I can wear and feel comfortable in, starting with shapewear.”
Lizzo with Yitty, the brand she co-founded. Photo courtesy of yitty.com
These days, talk of diversity and inclusion is ubiquitous in the fashion industry. But the musician has always been outspoken about embracing his size — “rear rolls and all — and showing them love,” according to an Instagram post, even before the body positivity movement was trending. Still, Lizzo isn’t celebrating. And she was reluctant to say whether she felt the body positivity movement was authentic, or simply performative.
Yitty’s Smoothed Reality collection includes bralettes and high-waisted briefs. courtesy photo
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“I think everyone should ask themselves: ‘How is my shopping experience? How has my shopping experience been?’” Lizzo said. “In my life, no matter what your body type is, I’ve heard that people always struggle to find something that they like and that looks good on them, you know? Then I do not know. I can’t answer that question for you. I know what Yitty is doing. And we are doing the work to be inclusive. And not only for the fact of being inclusive, but only because we want to. Just because we can. And I think that says a lot.
“It’s not just about selling an item, it’s about selling a sentiment,” he continued. “I never want to force people to buy something. And I think I’ve been in the same boat. That’s why I started a brand that’s like, on its own terms. And I think obviously, you know, people were so excited about shapewear. [that] we continue to expand our brand to other types of clothing.”
A selection of pieces from Yitty’s Smoothed Reality collection. courtesy photo
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Launching with three collections: Nearly Naked, Mesh Me and Major Label, Yitty now includes the Pet Me, Headliner and Smoothed Reality lines, spanning the shapewear, casualwear, activewear and intimates categories. And the singer said there is more to come.
“The sky is the limit,” Lizzo said. “I mean, there’s so much we can do with Yitty. And everyone has been loving what we already have. Then we can go anywhere.”
Smoothed Reality, which comes out on Sunday, is available on Yitty.com. The collection comes in sizes XS to 6XL and is priced from $15.95 to $59.95.
Source: news.google.com