A model walks the runway for the Chromat Fall/Winter 2019 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 8, 2019 in New York City.
As if we needed another reason to love body-positive swimwear brand Chromat, the company came out bold, beautiful and eco-conscious at New York Fashion Week. Featuring sustainable fabrics, an amazing lineup of models, and serious nods to the woes of our planet, Chromat’s show pretty much won fashion week.
Among the models walking the runway in Chromat’s signature cut-out swimsuits and metallic cover ups was curvy beauty Hayley Foster; stunner Diandra Forrest, who has albinism; differently abled model Mama Cax; and trans model Maya Mones.
To major audience cheers, these ladies owned the catwalk. It was hard to pick a favorite piece in the collection, but we went nuts for the “Babe Guard” slogan tees and hoodies.
A model walks the runway for the Chromat Fall/Winter 2019 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 8, 2019 in New York City.
Model Mama Cax bedecked in undersea elegance on the runway for the Chromat Fall/Winter 2019 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 8, 2019 in New York City.
Fun with Chromat’s long-fringe “Babe Guard” tee and tie bikini bottoms at the Fall/Winter 2019 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 8, 2019 in New York City.
A curvy Chromat model with reimagined seaweed pom-poms at the brand’s Fall/Winter 2019 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on February 8, 2019 in New York City.
Last November, Chromat’s founder Becca McCharen-Tran opened a studio in Miami, and soon the city and its beaches became a deep source of inspiration. But it was impossible to live in that place of inspiration without also facing a grim reality: Miami’s beautiful beaches are being threatened by toxic red tides, rising sea levels, and flooding. Sustainability has always been a quiet part of McCharen-Tran’s business model.
The difference is that now she has begun to speak out about it, namely about fast-fashion waste and the industry’s use of toxic chemical dyes. Chromat’s swimwear is made from up-cycled and dead-stock fabric, along with materials derived from discarded fishing nets and water bottles. McCharen-Tran hopes to see the ethos behind these sustainability practices grow into a bigger industry-wide movement.
This all ties in to Chromat’s mission – it’s not only about designing clothing to empower all women, but also about promoting a strong sense of conscious living, and a love and respect for the planet we call home.
