Now here’s a fashion line that have got the whole “what women want” thing down pat!
Back in March, San Francisco label Betabrand launched onto the market in a unique way, by used real life female PhD’s (instead of models) to front their campaign. It caused a stir in a good way, showing that fashion isn’t just about boobs, butt and showing as much skin as possible.
Brains and appealing to a buyer’s intelligence or personality, rather than just their physical appearance has been a successful method of ensuring they stand out from the rest. In an industry that is so saturated with homogenous copy-cat imagery, it is nice to see emerging brands such as underwear label Dear Kate, as well as more established brands like Dove and Pantene try something different for their customers.
Dear Kate showcased a group of women in tech for their latest Ada collection (named after tech pioneer Ada Lovelace who invented computer programming) and Dove have successfully shown how a brand can encourage a woman’s self-esteem and body image, instead of preying on it, to sell a product.
This new Betabrand collection is not only awesome, but also gives female writers and comedians a bit of an elevated platform. These are women who write for some major TV shows and now that we know they have women behind the scenes writing these jokes and making our favorite characters even more lovable, we have more reasons to A) watch these shows, and B) buy more clothes from Betabrand.
The Fall Comedy Collection features Brenda Hsueh writer and producer for ‘How I Met Your Mother’, Carrie Kemper writer for ‘The Office’ and ‘Silicon Valley’, Kay Cannon writer for ’30 Rock’ and ‘New Girl’, Laura Krafft writer and comedian on ‘The Colbert Report’, Rachel Axler writer and producer for ‘How I Met Your Mother’, Parks and Recreation’ and ‘The Daily Show’ and a slew of others who you can get to know by checking out their video interviews here.
One of the other models, Danielle Stewart, host of ‘Sex Box’ on WEtv talks about the struggles and positives of being a female comedian.
“People always ask if it’s harder to be a woman in comedy and the answer is yes and no. There are less spots for women in show business so the competition is fierce — which is kind of a recipe for disaster since females are generally caddy and competitive anyway.”
“I can’t tell you how many hundred of times I have heard ‘I usually hate female comedians but you were good’. But for this reason, it’s easier to stand out if you are any good because you are a minority. And if you are a black, middle eastern or Indian, even better.”
Kay Cannon says has some choice words on being a female comedian, which is why this campaign is important and allows these messages to shine through.
“I can’t wait until this question is no longer asked. I think funny is funny regardless of gender. I approach my career with that same attitude. I don’t focus on trying to be a funny lady. I just try to be a funny person. And in doing so, I’m not treated any different because I’m a woman.”
Screenwriter Brenda Hsueh says being a woman in the industry isn’t something to complain about, but celebrates it as her biggest achievement.
“I’m pretty proud of being a lady in a male-dominated field of comedy writing and being Chinese to boot. There are not many of us.”
Comedian Alana Johnston says gender shouldn’t even be an issue when it comes to comedy. That it is the content which counts.
“I don’t think of myself as a “funny woman,” I think of myself as a funny person. I don’t think gender should matter in comedy, funny is funny!”
We seriously love this campaign, LOVE what Betabrand are doing, and can’t get enough of the Nauseating Holiday Skirt being modeled in the image of Alana Johnston below. Thank you for being a brand dedicated to promoting the awesome things women are doing in the world!
