Thongs, Bikinis, and Philanthropy: Founder of San Francisco Lingerie Company …

Silk, satin, nylon, and lace: Lingerie has many purposes… chiefly to flatter, arouse and titillate, but the visually appealing undergarments pioneered by Lady Duff-Gordon of Lucille during the late nineteenth century to relieve women of the binding constraints of corsets is now also purposed to empower impoverished single mothers in Colombia. Colombian-born Catalina Girald, the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based lingerie startup Naja, proved the latter when she launched the Underwear for Hope program — a program that enables Colombian mothers to receive sewing lessons and gain jobs with Naja, ultimately lifting them out of poverty.

Girald launched Naja in December 2013 with $100,000 and a personal philosophy, stating that her mission was to “inspire and empower women” and that her underwear was made for “women who aren’t afraid to speak their minds.” Prior to earning her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Girald was an attorney but abandoned that life so she could offer luxury lingerie to women at an affordable price while at the same time emboldening women.
Hand-harvested Peruvian Pima cotton panties, inspirational quotes printed on the interior, high quality and custom detail is what’s offered to buyers of Naja’s undergarments. Comfortable, high-quality fabric at comfortable prices; and that comfort trickles down to the Colombian mothers working behind the scenes as the company helps to make their lives more pleasant.

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Najas partnered with the Golondrinas Foundation in Colombia so that, each time a bra is purchased through the Naja website, a fraction of the revenue goes toward the Underwear of Hope program, and customers receive a wash bag constructed by the women involved in the program.

Lingerie startup’s mission of empowering women extends to impoverished single moms in Colombia http://t.co/MofTIlCX5q via @latinalista

— Catalina Girald (@UnaCatalina) April 27, 2014

The company website lists a number of women and their personal stories.

36-year-old Maria Jaramillo from Barrio Caicedo, Colombia, lost her sister to gangs and was forced to leave her village with her sister’s daughters. She now works with a group of 50 children, teaching them the danger and destruction of war, gangs and violence. Where she dwells, it is violent, but she stays there because the children need her. She hopes to use the funds that she earns from Underwear for Hope to build a playhouse for the children.

Another 36-year-old from Caicedo by the name of Zulli works with Naja. She was displaced from the Choco region of Colombia, along with her four daughters, one of whom is deaf, blind and mute with developmental issues. Zulli’s lifelong dream has always been to sew and be a seamstress. When she and her family moved to Medellin, she was taught business skills by Project Fenix, who helped to finance a sewing machine for her. Since November of last year, Zulli has worked full time from home with Underwear for Hope and has fulfilled her dream of being an entrepreneur.

Girald, who arrived to the U.S. as a 4-year-old, moved around quite a bit before she got to where she is today. She lived in Connecticut, Texas, Massachusetts, Switzerland and France. She studied law at Boston College, worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom LLP in New York, started her own company, and then began studying fashion at FIT in New York and completed her MBA at Stanford before she created Naja.

“The company has a very clear philosophy: to inspire and empower women. I don’t believe that most fashion brands do this,” Girald said. “Most lingerie brands portray women as catering to men. I wanted to create a lingerie brand that was first about the relationship between the woman and herself because this is the relationship that we must first master.”

Dismissive of the notion that a Latina-created lingerie line promotes the “stereotypical sexy” image of Latinas, Girald remarked that it’s normally men who claim that she’s endorsing stereotypes and also made a point of saying, “Latinas know sexy. That is why [men] should buy my brand for [their] wife or girlfriend.”

If those men were to purchase an item from Naja, he would be helping women in the developing world; half of the proceeds from lingerie wash bags – created by impoverished women – will fund the Underwear for Hope, which helps women from some of poorest neighborhoods in Colombia.

Naja currently only offers limited sizing as it’s still its development stages, but it looks to accommodate all shapes and sizes one day. The company and Girald respects and honors the female form in its various molds, evident by the company small messages of inspiration imprinted in the cups of bras and within the underwear so that women are reminded that their bodies are beautiful, strong and incomparable.

“I learned that there is a need for women to feel better about themselves when they buy lingerie. It is more than just fit. If your body doesn’t look the way fashion tells you to look, you feel bad about yourself. So I decided to put quotes on the inside of our panties with the objective of making the wearer laugh, smile or feel inspired. For a split second, several times a day, you can feel better about yourself,” Girald said in an interview, which is featured on Storyboardist. “Another idea I had came from a 33-year-old woman who had recently had a child. She said she felt awful about how her body changed after being pregnant and that the only undergarments that fit her anymore were boring and beige. She was embarrassed to take off her underwear in front of her husband. I came up with idea of printing designs on the inside of the [bra] cup. She knows what is inside even if no one else can see it, and when she takes it off, she feels sexier and more powerful.”

Girald and her company Naja has promoted the idea that women can do good by looking and feeling good.

Please like Naja on Facebook and follow the company on Twitter. Also, follow Girald on Twitter.

TagsThongs, Bikinis, Founder San Francisco Lingerie, Catalina Girald, Underwear of Hope, poor, colombian, Mothers, Naja, watch, philanthropy

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Giles Deacon’s sexy lingerie range for Ann Summers lands

• Designer’s range for Ann Summers lands in store on May 1
• Features babydoll dresses and more daring lingerie
• Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner walked in his ready-to-wear show

By
Bianca London

Published:

05:57 EST, 28 April 2014

|
Updated:

07:00 EST, 28 April 2014

Ann Summers has been given a high fashion makeover by the acclaimed British designer Giles Deacon.

The collaboration is a first for Ann Summers, as the brand attempts to extend its offering and widen its appeal to take on other high street lingerie brands.

The underwear giant describes the new range as ‘unapologetically sexy and bold with a dash of naughtiness.’

It’s here! Giles Deacon’s lingerie range for Ann Summers has been unveiled and describes itself as ‘unapologetically sexy’ (corset, £145)

Giles Deacon, who worked for Bottega Veneta and Gucci before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003, once said that he ‘didn’t design for wallflowers’ and this mantra is certainly in evidence in this collection.

The Giles
Deacon for Ann Summers SS14 collection is made up of four key lingerie and erotic ranges and fashion-forward ‘sexcessories’, including rose gold necklace and cuffs, lace eye
masks and feather ticklers.

Key pieces have multifunctional detailing – straps that double up as hand cuffs, for example.

It’s not for the shy! Giles once said that he ‘didn’t design for wallflowers’ and his mantra has been injected into this collection of baby doll lace dresses (£60) and more daring underwear

That’s clever! The lingerie features multifunctional detailing – straps that double up as hand cuffs (left, cami suspender, £80, right, bra, £40)

Flattering: Giles said he knew he wanted to combine great shapes and thoughtful details into the ‘affordable range’

Taking everything into account: Giles said he considered different aspects of a woman’s personalities – whether that’s flirtation, dominance or playfulness – when designing the range, which lands on May 1

Speaking about the range, which launches in-store and online on May 1, Giles said:  ‘Ann Summers is an iconic brand recognised and loved by so many and which occupies a unique and successful position on the British high street.

‘I knew at the start when designing the collection that I wanted it to combine great shapes, thoughtful details and to be of the highest quality that would enable the pieces to be aspirational yet affordable.

‘I also thought about different women who might be buying these pieces when designing the collection, with different aspects to their personalities whether that’s flirtation, dominance or playfulness – the finished collection enables them to pick and choose and have some fun with all of the ranges as a collection of lingerie that can be the foundation for any outfit or occasion.’

A spokesperson for Ann Summers, said: ‘Giles’ collections are sexy yet always have a sense of fun, values that are in line with the Ann Summers brand – as a designer he is not afraid to be daring or to take risks, which is important.

‘We’re so excited to launch this collection to our customers.’

Brains behind the lingerie: Giles Deacon is best known for his playful designs and founded his own label, GILES, in 2003

Star studded catwalk: Cara Delevingne, left, and Kardashian star Kendall Jenner, right, walked in Giles’ AW14 show

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Comments (40)

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The comments below have not been moderated.

VOTE UKIP,

Our Only Chance, United Kingdom,

8 minutes ago

The bottom two girls look like something from Edward Scissor Hands.

ttfan1948 Brighton,

Sussex, United Kingdom,

33 minutes ago

I see women are STILL seen as sex objects. Will we never move on?

Ned60,

WGC, United Kingdom,

59 minutes ago

That Cara Delevingne just looks weird

chinablue,

PRC,

1 hour ago

No reflection on Cara because it’s what she is told to wear. But the pic of her demonstrates that whatever size you are if you wear the wrong clothes you can look huge! No wonder she looks grumpy.

Anon,

Middle Earth,

1 hour ago

I’m full sail

fracture,

lost, United Kingdom,

2 hours ago

i will never understand why pretty underwear is so expensive

Belmont,

Lancashire, United Kingdom,

2 hours ago

More pics like this please!

The Truth,

London,

2 hours ago

Thanks forf keeping us up to date with news from the world of sleaze. Stay classy.

Anon,

Leicester, United Kingdom,

2 hours ago

Love Giles Deacon and really quite like some of these designs, but I hate the quality of Ann Summers underwear!

null,

2 hours ago

Ann summers over priced tat la senza is much nicer

thelovelysarah,

Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom,

2 hours ago

La Senza used to be good til the takeover, now the quality is dreadful. Anne Summers is terribly tacky and uses hideous cheap fabrics.

Boux Avenue is the best on the High Street by miles at the moment, with Kelly Brook’s range for New Look a good budget choice.

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