Liberté Founder Amber Tolliver On Infiltrating The Lingerie Space As a Black Woman
When it comes to the lingerie industry, there have always been major players who’ve dominated the space, creating a siloed vacuum of the same offerings with the same imagery to go along with them. Only in recent years have we seen a shift in the narrative that only a certain type of woman deserves and wants underwear that looks good. As we demand more from every aspect of our lives, it’s only right that our undergarments get a welcome upgrade as well.
Enter Amber TOlliver, the model turned CEO who’s making waves as a Black woman in the industry with her ultra inclusive line, Liberté.
Designed with real bodies in mind, Tolliver is all about making women feel luxurious in all of their natural glory.
The funny, insightful and stunning boss sat down with SACRD to dish on her journey to entrepreneurship and what it’s like to be a Black woman in the undergarment space.
What was your journey like shifting from modeling to entrepreneurship?
So I signed back in 2001 at 15. As most 15 year olds do, I grew up, hit puberty, my body changed, and I was constantly in conflict with it. Obviously, as a black woman my natural figure is more curvaceous than some of the other models that were my contemporaries. I always felt like I needed to fight it and make changes. It took me a very long time to get to the point where I understood that that was incorrect. So, I bounced around [divisions]. When I finally moved to New York, I spent a year dealing with family health issues, I wasn't in the best mental space and I put on additional weight. My booker came to me and was like, “what’s good?”
A few weeks later they called me (as I'm literally sweating bullets) and said “we think that you would do really well on our plus board.” At that point in time, I was just exhausted of trying to change something that was natural for my body. The director of the plus board at the time was like, “we can double your income in a month. You'll be working and you'll be traveling,” and I said “sign me up, I don't care what you label me if I can be free in my own body.”
I realized that I was living my modeling dream in this theoretical space, but the clothes that I was being given to put on for these clients? I was like, “What is this? Somebody break this down for me because it's horrible.” I was working for lingerie brands and was like “Okay, great but why do these look like it's circa 1982? This is not okay.” I needed something different, something better. No one in America made something better. I was like “ding, ding, ding.”
Bowery Mesh Plunge Bra
$94 | Liberte
How long has the process been from idea to launch?
So, that was the lead up to the idea for Liberté, but then I realized I had no clue how to source fabrics, contact manufacturers, and who those reliable manufacturers were. It took five years of basically taking myself back to college to get a hands on practical experience within the industry. It took a long time but now it means that I have personal relationships with every single one of my suppliers, not just my factory. I want to know where we're coming from, and I want to touch it, I want to feel it, I want to make corrections on things that I don't like, and then it can go to the factory. Our first collection is in market which is really exciting. We've postponed our next collection due to COVID.
I don't believe there’s a point in producing right now. We have a beautiful collection that is still new to so many people. It doesn't make sense to me to continue to amass inventory, when we still have inventory that's beautiful. So, we're holding off on our new collections, but I'm really excited about them because we're introducing swim as well.
I'm expanding and we’re forging ahead. [Covid] has not stopped us, If anything, it's actually made us better because we are able to operate in a way that is super lean, super efficient, and a little a little like slower paced fashion industry.
Bowery Scalloped Thong
$43 | Liberte
Why was it important for you to produce a brand that centers inclusivity?
I think, for me, it's more so common sense. If we're here to be in service of women we need to understand that there's going to be evolutions of their mind, body and soul. We need to be there for them in the multitude of steps that they go through in their life.
I really wanted to open up that space and let women know that you shouldn't make meaning of your size, whether it’s your jeans size or your bra size, you shouldn't make meaning of it. It's really about fit.
This idea that we're more concerned with a printed number on a label than we are with how it makes us feel and how it fits our body needs to be adjusted. We need to start focusing on how garments lay on our body and how they perform their function.
What has your experience been like as a Black woman infiltrating this space?
You would think that the lingerie industry would be run predominantly by women, but it’s actually men who are making the decisions, so it's been an interesting space. There have been some barriers of entry but I think anyone coming into the market is going to have those issues. I never felt like I was stopped or looked at like, ‘you can't do this’ because I was a black woman.
It's played a minor part in my entrepreneurial journey but that’s not to say that it doesn't play a major part in fashion as a whole right?
As a black woman within the fashion industry there is definitely a barrier to entry, especially within the the luxury space. There's assumptions as to what level you're executing at, and that's where I find a little bit of pushback. My answer to that is, check out the product, it'll speak for me. I'll wait.
I always know that I deserve to be in a room. The color of my skin never dictates my right to be somewhere and I know that inherently in my heart. I have free rein of this entire industry and everything I put my hands on.
Bowery Lace Demi Bra
$117 | Liberte
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