Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Cancellare.
Hi Elise, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Elise Cancellare. I am a dog mom to my better half, Penny, who is a 10-year-old golden retriever/dachshund mixed, who has been by my side since high school. I am a huge foodie and I absolutely love to cook (and eat). I am Texas-born and raised, currently based in Dallas. I graduated from Texas A&M University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with one main goal in mind- to help people. I worked a number of jobs after graduation, until this year when I decided to take my fitness business fully online in order to travel the world with my partner, Mon, who plays professional basketball overseas. In the past 8 months, we have had the opportunity to explore 7 countries together and it’s only year one!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Every journey has its obstacles. However, for me, the obstacles I have encountered have made me exactly who I am and brought me to exactly where I need to be at this point in my life. I consider my struggles to be the early stages of new found strengths. I have had the opportunity to learn so much from my personal/ professional journey that now, I understand that hardship is a necessary part of the process.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Named after the Greek goddess of power, force, and raw energy, Bia Worldwide is a brand specializing in functional and fashionable denim designed for ALL bodies. Our brand will also serve as a community for women’s empowerment and body positivity. As curvy woman, my business partner (Veera) and I have always found it impossible to find jeans that fit right, look good, and feel comfortable. To be quite honest, we hated jeans. It has never seemed right that as humans, our bodies naturally fluctuate in shape and size throughout the days, weeks, and years of our lives (women especially), yet we are expected to purchase clothing in one specific size. We decided to ask around to see if other women around the world felt the same. Veera is a citizen of Finland, so living overseas this year gave us the opportunity to travel across Europe, interviewing strangers to identify the most common issues women experience when looking for that perfect pair of jeans. We then designed a line of fashion jeans addressing the issues we learned. Our soon-to-be patented design features an adjustable waist, different lengths, reinforced inner thighs and belt loops (for thigh rubbing and pulling up the pants from the loops), a signature sweetheart seam in the back to highlight the bum, and of course a fabric that will provide both comfort and quality at the same time. This will be the first-ever line of adjustable waist fashion denim for women, creating a much-needed niche in the jean industry. Once our first products drop (coming soon), the next step will be to host pop-up events for women in different cities around the world. Each event will offer a brunch, drinks, a jean bar, and most importantly a takeaway to help attendees grow in one facet of life or another such as self-defense trainings, resume building workshops, yoga classes, business lectures, etc. Our ultimate goal is to empower women and offer a product that will help women feel comfortable and confident in a historically ill-fitting clothing item made by men, for men. What makes us most proud is having the potential to have the entire world rethinking the way we should size clothing, the terminology we should use to describe different bodies and fits, and reversing the notion that there is (or ever has been) a “normal” body type. We believe in outgrowing societal norms for women, but never outgrowing our jeans.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see the industry continuing on the same path that we are on which is prioritizing inclusivity and breaking the barriers for clothing items that are traditionally intended for particular audiences only. The industry is (finally) understanding that ALL clothing is appropriate for ALL bodies and that products should be designed to fit and feel this way for every customer. Jeans will never go out of style, not in 5 years, not in 10. The trends do, however, change throughout the years and seasons. Luckily, our design can work with any style, fade/wash, or trend of denim that cycles through in the future.
Contact Info:
- Email: elisecancellare@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bviltnotbovght/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/bia.worldwide/
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