This month we connected with Crystal Cave and Mary Bemis, the collaborative designers of the Poppy Row x Reprise Activewear award-winning collection of size inclusive activewear.
Crystal and Mary were recognized by Self Magazine in February when they received the 2022 SELF Certified Activewear Award acknowledging their efforts and successes in designing a groundbreaking and sustainable line of size inclusive activewear.
Read the original feature.
“Going back 5 years ago when we each started our brands, we both wanted to create products that had a positive impact on the world + the humans who wear them. Being recognized by one of the leading health + fitness magazines for our size-inclusive collaboration feels like the most amazing recognition we could ask for…
And we’re just getting started!”
- Crystal Cave of Poppy Row
Zel: Thank you both so much for coming to this call. First and foremost, congratulations on winning a Self Magazine award for your collaboration together, that is a really amazing achievement. We wanted to take this as an opportunity to feature this collaboration and success of two of our clients here at Rule DD. Could you each begin with a brief introduction to yourself and your brand?
Crystal Cave: Hi, I’m Crystal Cave and I started Poppy Row. I created Poppy Row after working as a stylist. I realized after running my award-winning online style school a lot of my clients were on the cusp between straight-size and plus-sized and I was having a hard time finding great staple or basic pieces. There were only one or two brands where I could send everyone. When I was the one personally styling for clients, it was so easy for me to go and search for those pieces for the individual, but to systematize it and work with hundreds of people across the globe, I realized that actually there is a big need.
C: While I was in design school, I had this idea for a two-piece jumpsuit. It was through working with Corinne and Rule DD that I sketched out the idea and expanded from there to tops, dresses, and bottoms that could all go together. Corinne introduced me to the term modular which has been around for centuries, and we worked together to launch Poppy Row with a line of modular mix-and-match staples, starting with our five piece Fab 5 Collection!
Our founder Corinne defines modular design as:
“an approach to design which creates a single complete product by integrating or combining smaller pieces that are independent of each other.”
Mary Bemis: And I’m Mary, the founder of Reprise Activewear, a line of activewear and athleisure made using Tencel. I started the company at the same time as Crystal and launched the kickstarter in April of 2018. I actually had zero background in fashion, or in any kind of creative field. I was working in finance before, but was going through my closet and looking at all my clothes. I noticed everything was polyester, and I had no idea what that was. I Googled it and was surprised to learn that it was essentially a plastic. Even after switching to natural beauty products and eating healthier, I was still dressing in something essentially toxic.
POLYESTER IS A SYNTHETIC FIBER. IT IS A KIND OF PLASTIC AND IS USUALLY DERIVED FROM PETROLEUM. ALTERNATIVES TO OIL-DERIVED POLYESTER EXIST, INCLUDING THOSE MADE FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC and AGRICULTURAL CROPS.
Z: You have known each other for a while now, right?
M: Yeah, almost five years.
C: We first met in the Facebook group for Factory45, and then in-person at a female-founder focused event in New York. We became real friends after that.
Z: So have you two collaborated back and forth for the five years you have been operating?
C: We definitely started out as full supporters of each other's campaigns and brands. Mary and I were both at Rent the Runway Project Entrepreneurs Class of 2018 together, and I got to try on the Reprise Activewear leggings in the largest size she had. I am just about the average American woman’s size, or was at that time. We talked about doing other sizes together, but it was right before the pandemic started that we talked about doing a size-inclusive legging. Through the work with Poppy Row, we had developed an expertise in this area.
Size Inclusive: to size 18, but true inclusivity goes beyond size 18. According to the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and Education, the average American woman wears a size 16 or 18. Therefore, referring to these sizes as “plus” is no longer current. For a brand to be inclusive, it means they would cater to the needs of customers that are a size 24 or greater.
M: [This] is something I always wanted to do, because I knew straight sizing wasn't enough, but as a solo-founder who had no idea what I was doing (and I still feel like I don't!) I had to start somewhere. I had people reaching out saying that: you know I love what you're doing but I don't fit into this sizing. It was something I knew I wanted to do, and Crystal had put a lot of time into building an inclusive size chart. So I felt instead trying to approach this from scratch, why not collaborate on a product that Crystal loved and wanted to introduce to her audience? It was a natural blend of both our interests.
STRAIGHT SIZING: OR “STANDARD SIZES” (EX. XXS TO XXL) ARE USED TO STREAMLINE THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF WHAT THE INDUSTRY CONSIDERS TO BE THE AVERAGE OR MOST COMMON SIZES. HOWEVER, STRAIGHT SIZING IS LIMITING AND EXCLUDES A MAJORITY OF AMERICAN WOMEN - 68% OF WHOM WEAR A SIZE 14 OR ABOVE.
Z: That very organically answers my next question which is: what sparked this collaboration, but it sounds like you have been in the process of creating this line since the beginning of both your brands. How awesome to see an idea like that come to fruition and work so wonderfully - and to be recognized for how successful it is!
Z: What were some of the original goals you had or shared for this collaboration?
C: For me it was about collaborating on product development for things we didn’t have for Poppy Row. Being able to tap into my favorite legging, and make it size inclusive was a huge plus for me. I feel that the athletic world is really fat-phobic, and that is actually what led me to running my own company. For me it wasn't just about style, but also about self-love and empowerment too. A lot of that came because I was [previously] in the health sector.
M: I think we created the goals together. My goals were similar: bringing more size-inclusivity, and creating more products that people could love. Everyone seems to love the leggings and so just trying to just get them into the hands of more people, and also raise awareness and support. I think right now the goals are to support other creators in this space who are trying to raise awareness to general health and wellness, creating a more inclusive space.
Z: For the next question, could you share a little bit about the process of collaborating between two brands. Did Rule DD factor into that process or was it more independent?
C: I would definitely say that working with Corinne was an integral part of the process. Basically we took Mary’s initial legging and sent it to Corinne and gave her some reference photos for adding a pocket, as there had not been a pocket previously. We got our first samples with the pocket in Mary’s size, and because the pandemic going on, we got on FaceTime. Corinne also helped with the dye process. Mary, let me know if I have this wrong, but it was just prior to us starting the collaboration that you started introducing new colors, and had some disappointment within the dye process? So we worked with Corinne to find an alternative and we figured out a compromise. We had to figure out what would work between both brands as we each have slightly different clients, and shall we say, aesthetics?
M: Nope you got it, I think that's everything.
Z: Crystal has been with Poppy Row and Rule DD for 5 years; Mary when did you come across Rule DD and start working with Corinne and her team?
M: Through Crystal, that was the first exposure that I had to working with Corinne. I had worked with a similar company in New York when I first started. As I don't have any experience working with technical design, I felt like it was really helpful to have someone there who had all that knowledge. I had someone there when I first started my Kickstarter, but then tried to proceed on my own and I found it really difficult. It was a really seamless transition - it felt natural to continue the work together. It has been so helpful to have someone on the ground and can help with all the stuff I have needed assistance.
C: I want to add that Corinne also helped us with the production. We did use Mary’s manufacturer, but Corinne helped us making sure everything was ready for production.
Z: That’s great! Now that you are post-production, with the collection reaching its one-year anniversary soon, how does it feel to be nationally recognized for this collaboration?
C: I think it is really awesome to be recognized, and amazing that there are a lot of major brands like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Spanx, and others that we were recognized alongside. Plus the fact that we were one of the most inclusive brands on that list. It feels like all the work has actually been worth it. There is real progress happening.
M: Definitely, I am usually a one-person show. With the collaboration and help from Corinne, there's a lot of people who have assisted and worked with us. To put in all this work and have something I've grown from scratch, to see it alongside these big brands, it felt really awesome. We put in so much work on this collaboration. Being a small business you run into problems everyday, that definitely happened to us. Persevering and seeing this collaboration through, and seeing it recognized, really made all those issues worth seeing through to the end.
Z: Looking to the future do you have any future plans that you'd like to share?
C: Oh, I have so many future plans. I am working on more product releases with Poppy Row and Rule DD. We are working on incorporating dead-stock and releasing some new, exciting pieces!
M: Yeah, of course! We just released a bunch of new colors and styles that Rule DD helped with - it was the biggest collection that I've done so far.
Z: This is all so exciting! For my last question, why is sustainability important to you, and why is working with a sustainable focused design team a priority to you?
M: So many reasons, how to even answer? I grew up very environmentally-minded, in a family that was conscious and did a lot of work with it. It is something that has always been a value of mine. Some of the macro reasons would be, I am someone who's always felt like I need to be doing something that is contributing to the greater good, working with other brands that are like minded, and working together. You're able to get a lot farther with your goals in that way.
C: For myself, I had a chronic pain condition for 20 years, and was looking for health solutions. Similar to how Mary realized her whole closet was polyester, I realized I was plus-sized, in part because of the health challenges. I didn't have many options as a plus-sized consumer. My big thing is being conscious of what I am creating as a designer and business-owner. I truly believe that we are the stewards of this earth and that is our responsibility to take care of her. I think it's our obligation for the next generation. If I can be on the solution side, I'd be a part of that.
Z: That is very good motivation for anyone who is just starting out, whether it be as a creative or entrepreneur. I think you both are such great role models for anyone else with ambition and a determination to begin towards a sustainable future. Thank you both for your time today!