Lizzo’s Size-Inclusive Shapewear Brand Has Officially Arrived – Hollywood Reporter

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Available in sizes 6X to XS, Yitty is “a totally new take on shapewear, and believe me when I say there is plenty of space for innovation and creativity in the category,” the Grammy-winning star explains.
By Marie Lodi
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission.
Lizzo can officially add fashion entrepreneur to her resumé with the launch of her new shapewear brand Yitty.
The Grammy-winning artist teamed up with Fabletics to bring her own flavor to the shapewear scene, which includes bold, unapologetic colors and prints, silhouettes that go beyond traditional styles, and a highly inclusive size range in 6X to XS. Borrowed from Lizzo’s childhood nickname (her full name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson), Yitty is a line meant for every type of body.

The Watch Out for the Big Grrrls star tells The Hollywood Reporter over email that she started wearing shapewear in the fifth or sixth grade due to societal pressures that she had to “reshape” her body to meet unrealistic standards. “My vision with Yitty was to make sure nobody felt ashamed, that nobody felt left out and that everyone could be a part of this. I wanted to show the world that shapewear can feel and look good and be fun; that it can be inviting and bright and something you can be proud of,” she explains.

“I have spent the entirety of my life trying to change the way that I look or reshape my body,” she says. “I felt this pressure of constantly being told through what I saw on television or what I saw other women do to their bodies, that my body wasn’t good enough and I had to inflict some sort of pain upon it to fit into an archetype or a standard of beauty.  I’ve been wearing shapewear —  tight pinching corsets and underwear bottoms — for a very long time; since I was in fifth or sixth grade. It was really painful and I really felt that it shouldn’t be this way; we shouldn’t be ashamed of our bodies and we shouldn’t have to wear these contraptions to feel beautiful.”

She continues, “I could never find anything in my size and the colors were limited to pink, white and black. I thought to myself, ‘Who looks like that?’ I was waiting for someone to change the conversation around this article of clothing that so many people wear. It’s not comfortable. It doesn’t look like us. Eventually, I started to create my own shapewear pieces based on where I felt I needed to be shaped or hugged. But over time, because literally no one was addressing this, I realized that I needed to do it. I would drive the change.”
The line is kicking off with 100 pieces and three themed drops, with items ranging from $20 for a G-string to $90 for a bodysuit. (VIP Fabletics members get exclusive discounts, bringing prices down to $15 to $70.) There’s Nearly Naked, which consists of shaping bodysuits, cami tanks, shorts and more, and is the closest to traditional shapewear as it shapes your natural curves (but is lightweight and seamless). Meanwhile, Mesh Me has semi-sheer, breathable pieces that are designed to be shown off, like underwear as outerwear. Finally, there’s Major Label, which comprises everyday pieces like high waist leggings, hoodies, bralettes and pullovers.

The singer says that while she loves everything from the line, one of her favorite piece is the Nearly Naked Shaping Midi Bra. “I love the support and that it doesn’t have an underwire! It has the support of a bra, but you hardly know it’s there. I also love our Mesh Me collection. The smoothing compression makes me feel great and is super comfortable, and I love the colors, the prints and the versatility. This collection is perfect as innerwear, but super cute as your outer layer too.”
Shapewear is having its moment, evidenced by popular labels such as Spanx and Kim Kardashian’s Skims, and the global shapewear market is projected to reach nearly $7 billion by 2030, according to Allied Market Research. But Lizzo is putting a fresh spin on a category that has already made strides in recent years. The creativity and fun even extend to color names, like On My Ivories, Tempo Lavender, Bossed Up Brown and Moody Bitch Taupe.
“Yitty is a totally new take on shapewear, and believe me when I say there is plenty of space for innovation and creativity in the category. Like other shapewear brands, Yitty has collections across a range of compression levels. But what is really different about [the brand] is that we are designing collections in bold colors and prints that are meant to be exposed, styles that are technically designed to be worn as your underlayer but cute enough to wear alone, and pieces that are comfortable enough to wear 24/7.”
Sustainability is also an important part of Yitty (which is a certified carbon neutral company), as 65 percent of styles are made with recycled fibers and the product packaging is made with 100 percent recycled materials.
“I’m proud to be in Yitty shapewear,” continues Lizzo. “A lot of times the conversation around shapewear is, ‘Oh, it’s going to be painful. Ohhh it’s going to be torture. Oh, God forbid they see it. Hide it.’ You have your lingerie drawer and then you have your girdle drawer that’s hidden from everybody. But if you stumble into my Yitty drawer, you’ve stumbled into something sexy and exciting that makes me feel good. I want Yitty to make people feel sexy, confident and beautiful in their own bodies.”

The brand is now available at Fabletics.com, and select styles will also be stocked in Fabletics retail stores throughout the country. Below, see some of the best pieces from Yitty’s debut collection and shop the entire drop here.

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.

source