In an effort to make dance more inclusive for women of color, a company called Mahogany Blues is designing 'nude' leotards that match a wide variety of skin tones. With a greater number of leotards available, the company hopes that dancers will no longer have to resort to dyeing their costumes and shoes -- a process that can take hours to complete.
Mahogany Blues was started by designer Whitney Bracey as a way to "remind dancers of color of their value in an industry that has been color blind for too long." As a result, the brand offers three different types of leotards in four complexion-matching shades: Mulan, Amina, Jasmin and Tiana.
With stars such as Misty Copeland breaking barriers in the dance world, brands such as Mahogany Blues are filling a much needed gap in the dance apparel industry.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Inclusive Apparel
- Companies are designing apparel items that are inclusive and match a wide variety of skin tones, which presents a disruptive innovation for the fashion industry.
- Diversity in Dancewear
- There has been an increased focus on designing and producing dancewear that is inclusive and caters to women of color, which presents a disruptive innovation for the dancewear industry.
- Representation in Fashion
- The fashion industry has been called out for its lack of diversity and representation, leading to the emergence of companies that provide a much needed solution and could bring about a disruptive innovation in the industry.
Sectors Adopting This
- Fashion
- Companies such as Mahogany Blues are disrupting the fashion industry by designing and producing clothing items that are more inclusive and cater to a wider range of skin tones.
- Dancewear
- Mahogany Blues is disrupting the dancewear industry by creating leotards that match a wider range of skin tones, which could lead to a shift towards more inclusive dancewear designs.
- Apparel
- The emergence of companies such as Mahogany Blues that provide inclusive clothing options presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for the wider apparel industry to embrace diversity and representation.
