For Meena Harris, finding power and confidence in self-expression is an act of feminism. And creating her original Phenomenal Woman T-shirt, inspired by the 2016 Women’s March and the Maya Angelou poem, led to the ultimate act—an entire female-powered brand. The accidental entrepreneur (and lawyer, activist and bestselling children’s author) created her initial slogan tee with no grand plans. But finding the tee to be the perfect billboard for our text- message obsessed culture, she realised there were societal gains to be made by expanding into Phenomenal, the activist- focused lifestyle line that includes leggings, sweats and even a Ruth Bader Ginsburg swimsuit. “Thanks to the work of activists, a lot more people are paying attention to their purchasing power and the businesses they support,” says Harris. “Fashion can be one of the most personal and public ways we express ourselves—and at Phenomenal, we wear our heart on our sleeve.” A true purpose- led brand, Phenomenal’s sales benefit non-profit causes including Black Lives Matter and Families Belong Together.
But Harris’s drive and dedication to social change should come as no surprise. Her aunt happens to be US vice president Kamala Harris and her mother, Maya Harris, was a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton. Passing the torch forward, her activism includes empowering a new generation of feminists; her latest children’s book, Ambitious Girl was published in January, topping bestseller lists. “So much of Phenomenal’s approach is about reclaiming and reframing messages, words and double standards meant to tear us down or make us feel small: Woman. Black. Indigenous. Electable. Ambitious,” she says. “These are attributes and identities that make us powerful, not less than.” Phenomenalwoman.us
Good American
There can be few clothing items less joy-giving to shop for than a decent pair of jeans. Especially if you’re not a size zero. Enter Good American, the size-inclusive denim brand and sisterhood that promises to give you great looking fashion with a side serving of Oprah-level empowerment. Launched in 2016, the brand was founded by Khloe Kardashian and marketing whiz Emma Grede to inject some much- needed positivity into the plus-size denim market. Offering styles in US size 0-24, from high-waisted to scissor-hemmed—not to mention highly covetable maternity options—the company’s fit-first philosophy makes buying jeans the act of self-expression it should be. While legacy denim brands are catching up with this inclusive culture shift, Good American is ahead of the curve. Models of all sizes and ethnicities feature in its marketing, while each style is shown on a variety of differently proportioned models online. Reinforcing the ‘be good and do good’ ethos, the denim revolution extends all the way down the supply chain. Eco-friendly fabrics and packaging are a key consideration alongside US manufacturing that pays a fair, living wage. As the brand proclaims, ‘Our jeans empower every woman’, whether she’s the maker or the wearer. Goodamerican.com