
Abbie Chatfield is an icon for a lot of reasons. And one of those reasons has a lot to do with her sense of style.
This week, the radio presenter/podcaster/influencer/business owner sat down with co-hosts ofMamamia's What Are You Wearing podcast Deni Todorović and Tamara Davis to talk all things fashion.
The conversation ranged from Abbie's thoughts on 2022 trends like servo sunnies and skinny eyebrows (thanks TikTok) and also all the details behind her new clothing label.
As someone who now designs clothes, Abbie said there are a few key elements she now has to consider when creating each garment for Verbose The Label – one of them being size inclusivity.
Here's what she had to say.
Watch: Abbie Chatfield on No Filter with Mia Freedman. Post continues below.
"The vision was simple."
Around 18 months ago, Abbie and her business partners were chatting about brands they had seen which weren't pulling their weight with size inclusivity.
"They would have one size six model and then one size 20 and call it 'inclusivity' and 'diversity'. And we were like 'omg we should fix that'," Abbie said.
"Then we forgot about it and then a month later we were having drinks again and said 'you know we could actually make a clothing brand'. I was like, well I love clothing and enjoy fashion, but I'm not a fashion designer."
And luckily for her and the team, Abbie's sister is actually a fashion designer.
"She is a huge driving force behind the brand," Abbie shared on What Are You Wearing.
The vision was simple: A) Look for things that Abbie herself would wear all the time. B) Aim to fill a gap that Abbie and her team felt was there, that has made many feel uncomfortable and not catered to.
"I have a hard time finding tops to wear, especially finding tops that are comfortable. And now that I'm in radio, they need to be wearable all day, every day."
Addressing fatphobia was key for Abbie.
As Deni and Tamara noted on the podcast, one of the more 'revolutionary' aspects they discovered with Abbie's label was that on the website, consumers were able to see an image of each garment size on a model associated with that specific size.
"How annoying is it seeing just a size six and size 20 side-by-side. For me, it feels very tokenistic for me. [Initially, we thought] is it too expensive to have more models for photoshoots, but honestly, we did the whole lifestyle and e-commerce shoot in one six-hour day with six models. Then we wondered 'is it expensive to make the clothes in different sizes?' But it wasn't. You have quantities, and X amount per colour and per style," she explained.
For Abbie, she said it's her experience as an influencer and witnessing fatphobia that made her want to do better. Not to mention the importance of representation.
"I think that was at the forefront of my mind, and then it was about trying to get a fashion designer to help me create that."
With five items in sizes six to 26, Abbie also wanted to showcase some amazing women leading the way for the body positivity movement, including Kaleena Steinback and The Bodzilla.
"Micro trends come and go."
Fashion trends on social media are ever-evolving. And from the looks of it, they're getting more fun and kooky by the day - 'minced pork' handbag anyone? On theWhat Are You Wearingpodcast, Deni and Tam asked Abbie what micro trends she'd like to 'kiss' or 'kill',
First up: Speed dealers or servo sunnies? It's a no from Abbie.
" Konrad [Abbie's partner] has some and every time I see them I go, 'get them off'. They're feral. I have some speed dealer adjacent glasses that are just gold reflective ones, but not the full speed dealer ones – no."
As for jelly shoes, Abbie said it's a tentative no: "While I want to say kiss and want to love them, I know in three years I wo
Isabella Ross
Senior News Writer
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