Myisha Nawar
The thought that the shade “nude” refers to a single hue on the color spectrum is frustrating. Obviously skin tones vary from the palest of ivory to the richest of browns-and all are beautiful. Lingerie brand Naja gets this and with the reveal of its Nude for All collection, takes up a new vision on the concept.
True to its purpose of skin tone mimicking underpinnings, the range is made up of T-shirt bras, thongs and briefs meant to completely disappear under your clothing. Exciting, but eek-how do you figure out which nude is your nude? Naja has cleverly paired each of its colors with makeup, detailing which shade to go with based on the foundation color you use. Yes! AMAZING RIGHT? Nars, Bobbi Brown, MAC and L’Oreal are all listed.
What’s more, the models featured in the ads are 10 women mostly sourced from social channels- a Venezuelan ballerina modeling Nude 1, a software engineer modeling Nude 2 and so on. Women with powerful jobs and voices in their community were picked to further push the line’s message of diversity. However, Naja’s goal isn’t just to provide new options. It’s to tell the story of these women and the customers opting for the brand.
Naja took over a subway stop in Brooklyn, New York with advertising images and prompts for passengers to take a selfie with their shade of nude. As a part of the campaign, those selfies were plastered along columns on the subway platform.
It was the absence of darkey neytrals that initiated the seven-shade line being made. Founder Catalina Girald got busy watching gymnast Gabby Douglas in the last summer Olympics and noticed how her lighter toned nude ankle wraps were such a dismal match to her skin tone.
That was when the inspiration sparked. Now, thanks to her, we get our own shade of nude that blends into our skin with perfection!