In this series, our columnist Anna Jin brings attention to the unique and talented people of colour working in fashion.
Michelle Asare is a London-based fashion lover and founder of Sincerely Nude. The brand is striving to create nude clothing that fit for all skin tones.
This venture was born in 2018, as Michelle became increasingly frustrated with women of colour being excluded from ‘nude’ clothing lines.
“I just noticed everywhere I went that my nude wasn’t at the forefront of anything,” says Michelle. She found that a lot of these products tended to be a “beige colour”, that was drastically different from her own skin tone.
“Just out of frustration, I decided: I’m going to start my own brand that had more than one beige of nude.” And so, Sincerely Nude was born.
The brand aims to include all women in their version of nude and “empower [them] to feel beautiful and sexy in their skin tone no matter what shade or size.”
Despite working as a nurse and having no formal experience in the fashion industry, Michelle didn’t let this stop her.
“I feel like a lot of young people feel like they need to give up their nine to five in order to start a business,” says Michelle. She is eager to demonstrate that it is possible to devote yourself to your business, whilst also having a day job for financial support.
The combination of her hard work and society’s need for a more inclusive idea of ‘nude’ has led to Sincerely Nude gaining immense success.
It has since been featured in various mainstream fashion magazines, including The Telegraph, Elle, and Black Beauty & Hair Magazine.
Michelle has also attributed a lot of this success to her faith. Stating that she “just start[ed] and let God do the rest” when tackling the daunting process of launching her new business, crossing over into the fashion industry.
As well as offering four distinct shades of nude, with hopes of more in the future, Sincerely Nude are also size-inclusive, and are currently in the process of expanding their range.
Michelle also hopes to start hosting workshops to educate people on how to start their own business. She frequently receives messages from young women asking her for advice.
Michelle is currently working on new designs that will launch in 2021 in response to her customers’ feedback.
Sincerely Nude’s products can be ordered via their website, and they can also be found on Instagram.
