‘My nude isn’t the nude I see in shops’ says Ade Hassan, but that’s all about to change.
Nude tights, bras and pants are a lifesaver, right? When you’re wearing something sheer or don’t want to show off your legs quite yet, they can turn an outfit into TMI territory to wearable in a jiffie.
Right? Well not so if you’re any colour but the one-tone ‘nude’ that is in shops almost everywhere. But, fear not, Ade Hassan has finally come forward and taken a leap into the market with her lingerie and hosiery line, Nubian Skin which caters to women of colour.
‘For years, I have wanted to walk into a department store and find tights in my colour or a nude bra to wear under a shirt, so the idea was really born out of my own frustration. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, particularly to start a fashion business but I didn’t want to do clothes. One day, the idea popped into my head. I figured after years of frustration, if no one else was producing what I wanted, perhaps it was time for me to do it.’
‘I definitely didn’t have a history in the lingerie or hosiery business and that was the biggest hurdle to overcome when starting Nubian Skin as I didn’t really know where to start with getting samples made or finding factories. It’s actually pretty easy to start a business in the UK as you can register the company and trademarks online which is amazing for anyone looking to start their own business!’
With ASOS as her first stockist and Fenwick Bond Street and mytights.com following on soon after, Ade’s been featured in O magazine [Oprah Winfrey's magazine] and has a fan in Kerry Washington who tweeted about the brand. Launching in a national UK department store in the next few months, Nubian Skin has gone from strength to strength
‘I would love for the industry to get to the point, where any woman of colour can walk into John Lewis or House of Fraser and pick up a pair of tights in her colour, or the perfect ‘nude’ strapless bra to go with a dress. It’s such a basic thing but so many woman don’t have that option.’
‘The plan is to keep adding more retailers and expand our product line. We recently released large back sizes for our bras, so now we’re focusing on developing larger cups. We’ve got lots of things in the pipeline, so watch this space!’
Bravo Ade, bravo.