Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Wenger McPhaul.
Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
“Our sincere belief is that our product should be designed to benefit every woman on earth,” says Jessica McPhaul, who co-founded the company with husband Jay. Jessica, a Hollywood costume designer with a resume including Netflix’s “House Of Cards” and ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”, first conceived the idea of multi-racial nude underwear a decade ago as an assistant to a famous stylist. “I was sent to find nude bras for a project that featured a dance troop, and was horrified to find out when I came back with the only nude color available (beige) that the dancers were from different countries in Africa.” Jessica was promptly fired for what the industry did not produce, thus an idea was born.
They were able to create, develop and sample all their products right here in Arizona at FABRIC in Tempe, AZ. “We were the lucky recipients of the ‘Designer in Residence” Scholarship program that is offered through the Arizona Apparel Foundation. With the tools and mentorship, they provided us we were able to fast track our development and grow this company from nothing to a full runway show in a short 6 months.” Jessica is so proud to say Naked Rebellion is designed and developed in Arizona.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was not always a smooth road. “Designing undergarments in multiple shades of nude provided a variety of challenges when we were developing our designs. There are no elastic, hooks, snaps, closures, etc. in any variety of shades. The fashion industry only makes these garment construction items in beige- so we had to re-develop the bras to not need any of those ‘traditional’ manufacturing items.” It was a huge hurdle to jump through, but “we couldn’t be more proud of the product we can offer.”
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Naked Rebellion’s first collection features three bra and three underwear designs in 9 different skin tones. “Our primary goal is to redefine the nude shade bra and make it the most important staple in a woman’s closet,” said Jay McPhaul, co-founder. “To do this, we as an industry have to adopt a new, more radical paradigm of inclusion.” You can buy their premier collection on the website nakedrebellion.com. Prices from $22- $68. Shades of nude are almond, crème, honey, mocha, caramel, walnut, espresso, cappuccino and black.
Pricing:
- Bralette – 9 shades of nude $68
- Racerback Bra- 9 shades of nude $68
- Tank Bra- 9 shades of nude $68
- Thong- 9 shades of nude $22
- Brief- 9 shades of nude $22
- High Waisted Mesh Undies- 9 shades of nude $28
Contact Info:
- Address: 132 E 6th st
Tempe, AZ 85281 - Website: Nakedrebellion.com
- Email: hello@nakedrebellion.com
- Instagram: @naked.rebellion
- Facebook: Facebook.com/nakedrebellion
- Twitter: @naked.rebellion
Image Credit:
Photographer: Brad Olson, Location: The Grey Atelier and FABRIC
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