Lingerie brand Bluebella launched its Dare To Bare campaign with a catwalk show at Oxford Circus featuring 19 fans of the brand. Models included a medical PA, a company boss, four students, two actors, a musician, two writers and a fashion merchandiser. Emily Bendell, Bluebella chief executive, said the Dare To Bare campaign was a fun way to celebrate the company’s unique approach to life and fashion and celebrate the city of London.
She said: “We have a history of shoots demonstrating both our commitment to celebrating diversity in beauty and of celebrating the city around us and this was the most exciting yet. We put out an appeal on Instagram and were amazed at the response. A lot of the women who posed had suffered from body confidence issues in the past and saw this as a fun way of overcoming them.”
Visual merchandiser Lexi Brown, 26, had lost two-and-a-half stone after suffering from ulcerative colitis. She said: “This was a great way to get some confidence back. I was a little nervous but it was brilliant fun. I play roller derby (like rugby on rollerskates) for Kent and still play despite my condition. I hope to try out for Team England next year.” Rachel Atherley-King, 23, a physiotherapy student at Brunel University in West London, said: “It was a confidence test for me. I wanted to see if I had the guts to stand in the middle of London in my underwear. I have had anxiety issues in the past where I didn’t do anything and I thought this was a good way of properly testing if I have overcome them. I think I have!”
The youngest model posing was Chilli McCormack, 18, a make-up worker from Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. She said: “I’ve loved Bluebella for a long time – it is all about empowering women and its models always have strong, unique looks. It was a lot of fun and people’s reactions were great.” The Bluebella team feared that they would have to cancel the shoot when two police officers arrived, but once they realised the women were only posing for pictures when the green man was flashing they joined in the fun. “We would like to thank the police for their support – they were brilliant sports,” Bendell added.
