Meet Nala, the Australian lingerie label dedicated to making truly inclusive undies

IMAGE VIA NALA

WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT

“We make dreams come true for every boob around the country.”

If you’re living in Melbourne, you might have seen a giant inflatable boob cruising down the Yarra River recently. This act of titty guerilla marketing wasn’t just for fun – it was an intentional statement on censorship in media, made by inclusive underwear label, Nala.

As the co-founder of the local label, Chloe de Winter, told Nala’s Instagram followers, “For too long, advertising standards have played a harmful role in how women feel about themselves. We’re here to be the voice for those who continue to be silenced”.

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Born amid Melbourne’s lockdowns, Nala was created after the search for new underwear left Chloe feeling “uninspired”. Working alongside her husband Phil, Chloe developed her collection of super-soft, sustainable and diverse bras and underwear – available up to a cup size H, or a 6XL in bottoms.

Launching only six months ago, Nala has already amassed a cult following for its comfortable, high-quality pieces and revolutionary fit guide, which allows customers to find their size based on the breasts that look most like theirs. Below, Chloe speaks on the Nala journey so far.

Tell us about you. What’s your fashion background?

Is it okay to say I don’t really have a fashion background? While traditionally my fashion background has never extended beyond building out my own wardrobe with beautiful pieces, I’m now knee-deep in bras and underwear! In fact, I’m a 31-year-old physiotherapist and Pilates business owner. But who doesn’t love a bit of variety in their role?

How did the label get started? Talk us through the process and the challenges.

During Melbourne lockdowns, I was on the hunt for some new bras and underwear and felt uninspired. Everything on the market was either too expensive, bland and boring, or using fabrics and other practices that were damaging to the planet. It felt like every brand’s approach to marketing felt outdated and stuck in the ’90s – incorporating tokenistic models to spruce ‘inclusivity’. My husband Phil and I decided we could do it better – and Nala was born!

We spent a year working on the products and the brand before launching in October 2022. There’s no way to rush the design process of high-quality products! It takes time to develop the design, source sustainable (but affordable) fabrics, create samples, test the products on different body types and then actually make the products. COVID meant we faced additional delays, but we knew we’d get there in the end!

What were you trying to achieve from the project at the time? How has this evolved and what are you trying to communicate through the brand now?

When we began Nala, we wanted to bring a refreshingly inclusive, fun and bold brand to the otherwise vanilla industry. We wanted to bring products that are actually comfortable (i.e. bras you don’t just want to rip off at the end of the day), all with a little shock factor for people. For our launch campaign, we planted G-strings on people’s cars with a handwritten note saying ‘I think you left these at my place last night?’, which was a little bit of fun!

But after five months of being live, we now have tens of thousands of people who have tried the product and can vouch for its quality, fit, comfort and support… so now we are leaning into this. We have a community of people who spread the word, whether it be simply through word of mouth or more publicly online. Now that we have a strong relationship with our customers, we can also ask them what they want to see next and plan to design products that actually solve a problem for them.

How would you describe Nala to someone who’s never seen it before?

I would ask why they haven’t seen Nala! We need to work harder on our marketing… jokes. Nala makes incredibly comfortable, high-quality and affordable bras and underwear. Some could say we make dreams come true for every boob around the country. Working with intimates designers with over 100 years combined experience in the industry, our products are quality! Our bras are sexy but supportive, and our briefs are forget-you’re-wearing-them comfy.

We are inclusive too, but not in a tick-a-box kind of way. We offer sizing up to a 6XL and an H cup, as well as gender-neutral designs specifically designed for people with different needs. We’re also sustainable, but not green-washy sustainable… [we’re] the real deal with sustainable fabrics and packaging.

What are you most proud of in your work on your label?

I am so proud of the way the brand has resonated with so many people, and I think that’s what fulfils me the most. Since we launched in October, around 30 per cent of our customers have come back to buy more. Underwear isn’t something most people buy all the time, so to see that happen in just five months… [it’s] a real pinch-me moment!

There are different parts of Nala that resonate with people. For some, it’s the fact that they can purchase bras in size 18H that are chic and don’t cost a million dollars (perhaps a slight exaggeration there)… and for others, it’s the fact that Nala communicates through a gender-neutral lens and gives them a sense of gender euphoria… for many, it’s the fact that they feel represented through seeing a body that looks like theirs in the Nala Fit Guide. I know there’s a lot there but can I say I’m most proud of … everything?

What do you wish you knew when you started?

That Meta, Google, TikTok and Pinterest hold so much power and with no warning, they can block and censor all your content. Given we are an underwear company with some sheer products, this is a big problem. As a result, we need to work hard to build out other areas of the business and not rely on these big tech companies.

Unfortunately, since launching we have encountered major issues with censorship. Our TikTok advertising has been permanently banned, it took four months to get approved by Google and we have been shadowbanned on Instagram. For a new small business, that poses a major challenge.

Oh, and how to order the right amount of stock! It’s a good problem to have, but we’re currently out of stock in so many of our best sellers. Our Nala fam has been super patient with us, but if we could wave our magic wand and get some more stock in our warehouse tomorrow that would be nice!

Who do you think is most exciting in Australian fashion right now?

Nagnata. Aside from their dreamy bralettes and sweaters, they have built their brand with a strong emphasis on community initiatives and the planet. We love that.

What about the Australian fashion industry needs to change?

The Australian fashion industry still feels like it’s living in the past when it comes to inclusivity. For example, there are many household Aussie brands that still only cater to a size L… in 2023, we need to do better.

I also think there can be a disconnect in the industry between marketing and product – it’s one thing to showcase diversity through marketing, but it’s another thing to actually create products that serve a diverse range of needs within the community. We hope that Nala can be a trailblazer in this area, and help other brands do better.

Who is in your wardrobe right now?

On top of the four thousand Nala samples I am living in, you’ll find Venroy, Viktoria & Woods, Gramicci, some op shop pieces and jewellery from Collections Fine Jewellery. Plus I’m a Pilates girl, so there’s lots of Nimble and Lululemon in there too.

How can we buy one of your pieces?

We are predominantly online at wearnala.com. It was a decision early on to focus on direct-to-consumer to keep prices as low as possible. We are, however, stocked in a couple of small independent stores just to test the waters.

Nala has a really innovative Fit Guide on its website. Can you tell me a bit about how it works, and what the process of putting it together was like?

The Nala Fit Guide has been a game-changer for online shopping! When you enter, you are presented with over 30 bare, naked images of chests and breasts (yes, real boobs). Customers are invited to scroll through the library and select a body that looks like their own – perhaps with east/west-shaped breasts, maybe full and round breasts, perhaps athletic and flat.

You are then told what size that person is and shown what Nala products will look like on that customer. It means that customers can visualise what Nala products will look like on a body like their own, instead of just on models.

Putting this together was challenging! We had to source over 30 people to come in and do a naked photoshoot – most of whom had never even heard of our brand! We’re lucky people were so trusting! Getting a diverse range of chests was our challenge – we needed different sizes, body shapes, nipples etc. We’ll actually be expanding the library, as we want to showcase every chest out there!

Browse the Nala collection here.