Success Through Prioritizing Women's Health, Community And Your Values With Nadine Woods FashionTalks podcast

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Success Through Prioritizing Women's Health, Community and Your Values with Nadine Woods

2d ago 52:14

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Welcome to the latest episode of FashionTalks! In this episode host Donna Bishop speaks with designer and founder of Mayana, Nadine Woods. Nadine shares many personal details about her unconventional fashion journey.

How the birth of her child influenced her business
The surprising power of lingerie
How she launched her brand with no formal design education
The importance of her Caribbean heritage
How she eschews traditional business practices and business paradigm she is developing and values

Donna Bishop @thisisdonnab

FashionTalks @fashiontalkspod

Mayana @wearmayana

mayanageneviere.com

CAFA @cafawards

cafawards.ca

TRANSCRIPT:

00:01.14

Donna Bishop

Hello, Nadine. It is so wonderful to have you here on Fashion Talks.

00:04.49

Nadine

Hi, thank you so much for having me, Donna. I'm really looking forward to our conversation today.

00:08.69

Donna Bishop

ah Oh my goodness, it's going to be so juicy because you have such, not just an amazing business, but your purposefulness of the business is so important and interesting, and we're going to get to it.

00:20.37

Donna Bishop

But first I want to start off, I love starting with this question with everyone. Everyone, I believe, who works in fashion, who loves fashion, has that moment where they realize, wow, this thing, clothing, this thing, fashion, it carries more power than just making sure I don't get a sunburn, making sure I don't get wet when it rains.

00:40.01

Donna Bishop

Do you have a moment where you became aware of the power of fashion?

00:44.72

Nadine

Yeah, definitely. i think it's definitely when I started my business, I had a baby and I really was not prepared for my recovery process because they scare us to death into the birth and delivery ah really. And truly, they just make it very fear-based in the West.

01:04.50

Nadine

Um, And we're not really prepared for the recovery process. Like we have no idea what's going to happen. And to be fair, so many things could happen.

01:16.38

Nadine

But in general, i wasn't prepared for the fact that I wouldn't be able to wear my pre-existing undergarments, like my underwear. And I was used to wearing a certain type of thing, like at that time, like something a little bit, like I would wear thongs. I would wear like all these other things that just,

01:35.15

Nadine

you know, wire bras as as we all do.

01:36.94

Donna Bishop

As we do. so

01:39.86

Nadine

um And i mean, pre COVID, I would say definitely. And I was really used to things that were really pretty underneath. And then when I had my baby, I couldn't fit into anything, but nevermind, I couldn't fit into anything.

01:55.58

Nadine

It didn't work for what I needed because when you have a baby, you bleed for six weeks straight and i think a lot of people don't realize that um and there's a lot of things happening if you decide to breastfeed now your breasts are working and so they require space and room and they're uncomfortable because you're getting adjusted to this new body that you're in um as your body transitions into another phase which is still within the framework of ah pregnancy, right? Because when we have children, a lot of times what happens is we have this bounce back culture where where we want to fit back into the things that we own previously. And that was one of the things that was for me. So a huge identity shift happens there. And fashion is a huge component of that.

02:42.14

Nadine

And when you're not used to returning to what you're normally wearing and you're forced to wear whatever's given to you for that time, it really does an effect on your body image.

02:54.09

Nadine

And so for me, that's how I really start to realize, wow, there is almost an instant pick-me-up when we change our clothes into something that makes us feel better. And undergarments have this really powerful way of setting the foundation for how you're going to feel during the day.

03:11.36

Nadine

You could wear a big sweatsuit, but if you have something really pretty underneath, it's like your own superpower, right? Right. you feel good, you carry yourself differently. But if you have some like frumpy underwear, that's like bunchy and gaping, and your bra is just loose, you don't feel great about yourself.

03:32.10

Nadine

um So that's when I realized, oh, this is a super powerful way or tool for an immediate pick me up in addition to all the other things you need to do for healing.

03:43.30

Donna Bishop

It's such an interesting point because I think undergarments get such a, they're kind of polarized, right? They're either utilitarian and we shouldn't think about them or they're like, I'm going to get something tonight, like super sexy, not something you would wear day to day.

03:59.85

Donna Bishop

Like that's kind of the two pins of it, right?

04:01.82

Nadine

Yes. Yes, for sure. And i wanted to combine the two because we, I was at a stage in my life where I needed something that was going to support things that I learned about only after I had my daughter. So my pelvic floor, diastasis recti, for those who don't know, that's the separation of your abdominal muscles.

04:22.93

Nadine

Um, things like that, that I didn't even know existed before I had my daughter. And now I need to wear pieces

04:29.72

Donna Bishop

and be

04:31.68

Nadine

Sorry, go ahead.

04:32.58

Donna Bishop

No, no, no. I was just going to say, you know, the your entrepreneurial journey is so rich in education. But before we get too much into that, like, can tell us a little bit about you. You know, where are you from?

04:47.20

Donna Bishop

where were you born? What kind of kid were you? Tell us a little bit about Nadine before we get into Mayana.

04:53.61

Nadine

Yeah, so I was born in Toronto. I do not have a background in fashion at all. I didn't study fashion. i was not I was interested in fashion, but I wasn't interested in the sense that um I would idolize like large designers or you know big fashion houses. like it was not...

05:13.42

Nadine

For me, I used fashion as a way to express myself in my culture. So I'm from the Caribbean. And for us, we are used to wearing beautiful, colorful, powerful prints, natural fibers, very flowy, beautiful things, which now has become popularized as resort wear.

05:36.31

Nadine

um But that literally is how we live. And

05:41.89

Nadine

That is a big part of how I view fashion. Another part of my upbringing too was I'm very entrenched in my culture. My family's from Trinidad and I was raised as a Trinidadian girl.

05:54.94

Nadine

I was not, you know, it to my culture. Like, yes, I'm born in Canada, but my culture is Caribbean. And part of my culture is carnival and carnival is a huge expression of self. It is emancipation from enslavement is its resistance. It is rebellion.

06:14.92

Nadine

And it's not just people jumping up and dancing in the street. There's a reason why we do it. It is a release it is of trauma. It is healing. And a lot of people don't understand meaning of Carnival, but that also informed how I design my pieces today because we are used to all bodies on the road. That is not new for us.

06:38.12

Nadine

In our culture, it's important to celebrate all different types of bodies and sizes. So I come from a background where we really appreciate people and who they are and not just their bodies, I would say.

06:57.44

Donna Bishop

It sounds like you grew up with a real comfort and love for all bodies. And we know we live in a culture that that is not always the case.

07:11.51

Donna Bishop

When did you become aware that there was a like that people felt differently, that there was a a philosophy of, you know, love your body only if your body looks a certain way?

07:26.90

Nadine

I definitely would say i was ignorant to it in my teens. So I just, you know, you know, your teens, I have a teen right now and the goal right now is just to fit in, not to stand out. Right. That's the teenage goal.

07:40.10

Nadine

And then as you get older, you start to form your own identity and also life circumstances, right? Like right now I'm in the perimenopause phase and I'm which starts at 35, everyone. I mean, like people don't realize it's just right.

07:56.93

Donna Bishop

Yeah.

07:57.13

Nadine

um And there's just things you're just not willing to do to yourself anymore ah out of comfort, right? Or discomfort, I would say. i think a lot of us felt that unanimously during COVID people just stopped wearing bras.

08:09.39

Donna Bishop

yeah

08:09.99

Nadine

Right? So I think these are the pieces that I was like, okay, there is a huge problem, but it really hit me after I had my daughter because I no longer fit into the beauty standard. My body was a different shape. I had stretch marks, stretchy skin, um all these things that, you know, we're told are not perfection based on what we see subliminally in movies, magazines, TV, runways.

08:30.96

Nadine

We're not seeing these types of bodies anywhere. And so we're receiving that kind of message in the West. But then when you go to other cultures, it's like a non-conversation. I would say. Right. So that's when I started to realize, oh, it was a really hard time adjustment for me.

08:46.88

Nadine

And then when I rejected all these narratives that I didn't realize I was actually living by, it was another level of freedom that was really unlocked for me. And I didn't have to continue in this cycle of overconsumption just to keep up the standard.

09:03.64

Donna Bishop

I want to ask about the conversations you've been having with your with your clients and customers, because I know they're, you know, we've talked before about what a big part they are in terms of, you know, your business.

09:17.66

Donna Bishop

But before we get to that, when did you know that, what was the moment where you knew you wanted to start your brand? When was the moment when Mayana was conceived?

09:27.16

Nadine

Yeah. So once I went through that life-changing experience, I felt like, let me, am I alone in this? And I sent out a survey and

09:35.85

Donna Bishop

Were you working in fashion before?

09:40.83

Nadine

I was not, I had no fashion background, nothing.

And I was just mortified.

09:42.18

Donna Bishop

Be inspired, people. Anyone?

We can all pivot.

09:44.05

Nadine

but

09:46.26

Nadine

Yeah, yeah, totally. um I was mortified because I came home and I had to wear my mom's underwear and I had to wear these big, disgusting nursing bras and I was like, there's got to be more to life than this for people who are struggling in motherhood and all of a sudden become invisible.

10:02.11

Nadine

And so I sent out this survey at the time, Survey Monkey, right? It was like the only thing. And I had sent that out and I got over 200 responses. And the survey was 15 minutes long. And I wasn't offering it.

10:12.49

Donna Bishop

Where did you send it? Like just to your network or-

10:14.52

Nadine

I just sent it to friends and family and I was like Keith who sent like, can you ask people what they think? um And it's so interesting because I didn't incentivize anybody and I got these very heart wrenching responses.

10:28.75

Nadine

And I realized there's a need for this, right? Like this was without, you know, normally when you start a business, like in business school, they tell you, okay, what's the market gap? Like how much can you, I didn't, that is not what drove me. I just was like, okay, let me take a look. And then I went to New York to the largest lingerie trade show.

10:46.49

Donna Bishop

so So your survey, I just want to like hone in on this for a minute. Was it basically like, do you like the underwear you're wearing?

10:49.38

Nadine

Yeah.

10:51.73

Donna Bishop

How do you feel about your body? Like what kind of questions were you asking?

10:56.47

Nadine

I was asking them if they understood what their pelvic floor was, if they had any leakage after they had children and did they find that their underwear was helpful? How were they, what were they using to support themselves in this time? Like very invasive and personal questions.

11:13.68

Nadine

Right? Like, not just like, do you like your underwear? Do you like, ah you know, not not just that.

11:16.25

Donna Bishop

that

11:17.66

Nadine

Like, do you feel like your underwear is serving you in this time? Like, questions like that, right? Because, yeah, you could find underwear everywhere, right?

11:23.36

Donna Bishop

Yeah.

11:26.55

Nadine

But is is it working for you? Or are you just dealing with what's available?

11:33.49

Nadine

Um, yeah. And then the other pieces I went to New York and I saw that the lingerie industry is 95% male owned operated run.

11:45.04

Nadine

Okay. Makes a lot of sense as to why women don't feel great about themselves or why women feel as though they need to look a certain way in undergarments as opposed to it actually functioning. And I didn't see any undergarments that actually combined function with style.

12:02.84

Donna Bishop

Right.

12:03.42

Nadine

It was one or the other.

12:03.71

Donna Bishop

And what year was this, Nadine? How long ago was this?

12:06.97

Nadine

This was in 2010. 15 years ago.

12:09.75

Donna Bishop

Okay.

12:10.77

Nadine

yeah fifteen years ago

12:14.30

Donna Bishop

So you're in New York, you're like, I can like, as they say, you know, you you're like, I can build a better mouse trap. Like there are like the lingerie industry is massive, but you're not seeing what you and evidently, you know, quote you know, backed up by your survey, hundreds of other women are not being serviced.

12:36.09

Donna Bishop

So then what did you do?

12:36.33

Nadine

Yeah.

12:38.70

Nadine

Well, I started analyzing things critically. I was like, okay, this makes a lot of sense as to why women's actual needs are not being served because who is the one producing for them and who's the one designing for them and who's the one coming up with how they should look.

12:51.41

Nadine

And that feeds into their need to feel, or that feeds into their not feeling good enough. And then that leads into other aspects of consumption.

12:58.26

Donna Bishop

yeah

13:00.34

Nadine

Right. And so for me, i was like, okay, there's definitely a need here. Let's see what we can do to make something that creates space for people that are not seen even in the maternity space.

13:13.05

Nadine

Right. You're just seeing pregnant women wearing nursing bras. You're never seeing a postpartum body at that time.

13:20.05

Donna Bishop

Yeah.

13:20.83

Nadine

You were not seeing a postpartum body anywhere.

13:23.99

Donna Bishop

Yeah.

13:24.15

Nadine

Um,

13:24.19

Donna Bishop

I mean, I think it's important to, you know, put the timestamp on it because it has become a little more open and inclusive and we see, you know, images in your, your,

13:36.28

Donna Bishop

you know, imagery and whatnot of people nursing. But, and that is certainly, happened in some other brands, but back in like 2015, 2010, before, like nada, like nothing.

13:46.48

Nadine

No.

13:47.41

Donna Bishop

And when you went to shop for it, it was limited and grim.

13:51.62

Nadine

Yes, exactly.

13:55.17

Donna Bishop

And so when you started your brand, tell me about like the early days of Mayana. Were you still talking to customers? Did you start to one design? Like, just give us a bit of context for like the early days as it's growing to the to the robust company that it is now.

14:13.02

Nadine

Yeah. So in the early days, I was just really focused on, okay, what pieces can I create to satisfy certain parts of healing? um How can I create pieces that are going to be versatile so that you don't feel like you have to compromise your wardrobe in order for you to get the support that you need at this time of your life?

14:30.48

Nadine

And I just based it off of my own personal experience because I was literally Frankensteining a lot of my pre-existing pieces and I actually had boobs for the first time. so I really went out and I was like, oh I'm going to buy this bra. And it was, you know, and I would just kind of rework that bra to work in a way that works for nursing. Cause I nursed my daughter exclusively, which is a whole other journey.

14:53.74

Nadine

Um, but for almost two years. And so for me, I really wanted to get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. And when I say that maybe not so much the size, but like the option to have the same styles, right?

15:09.49

Donna Bishop

Yeah.

15:09.60

Nadine

So ah traditionally nursing stuff is high, big cups like high. And so you're very limited in how you dress and what you wear. um and then there's other pieces. So for me, I think that's how I started. And then I started...

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