Parade is a new mission-driven, sustainable underwear brand that fights for better representation in the lingerie space — in technicolor. “That to us means having a full-spectrum approach to how we build our community. We have people of all sizes, gender identities, and bodies in Parade,” CEO and co-founder Cami Tellez says. Now Tellez is celebrating bodies of all kinds with a holiday calendar photographed by Lula Hyers, to showcase the brand's partnership with Swarovski — and the result is a prime example of how Parade believes the underwear industry should look going forward.
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Over 170,000 Swarovski crystals were used across the entire holiday collection, and each brief itself has over 1,029 crystals. The collection will also include a limited edition Parade logo hoodie with Swarovski crystals for $118, and a set for $68 which contains an assortment of bedazzled briefs.
Tellez herself was also instrumental in the calendar — she was both creative director and stylist. “Our choice to present this collection in a calendar came back to the core idea that we’re rewriting history. Even the idea of a calendar with women in their underwear, which is the pinnacle of the male gaze,” Tellez said. “Our calendar featuring the new collection with Swarovski demonstrated that Parade’s mission isn’t to deny the sexuality of women in their calendar, it’s rather to celebrate it in its full brilliance.”
“We chose to feature women wearing the collection in a variety of body types, from XS to 3X, but we’re also celebrating all of these incredible women in our creator community that come from a variety of backgrounds; Alexa Losey is a YouTube creator, Brooke Wise is a curator, Paige Elkington is a comedian, Medalion Rahimi is an actress, and Josephine Lee is a jewelry designer,” Tellez explains.
Tellez continues to put her money where the Swarovski crystals are. She believes that underwear is more than the “connective tissue between your body,” and is a politically charged, emotional space. To that end, Parade has raised $20,000 for Planned Parenthood since its launch (by donating 1% of profits to the organization). That’s also the beauty of this collection — Tellez’s branding is in line with the underwear it sells. “The days of one-note sexiness are over,” said Tellez — making the idea of slipping into something comfortable even more appealing.