So uplifting! Fashion designer Stella McCartney, whose mother Linda died of breast cancer in 1998, is creating a feminine bra for post-mastectomy patients in honor of her famous mom and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The goal of the new project is to help post-op survivors feel flirty and womanly after surgery. The undergarment, called the Listening Louise Bra (named after her mother’s middle name), is a lacy pink creation. “We wanted to bring something feminine and beautiful into a bra that is taboo,” McCartney said in a statement. “There are so many different emotions attached to the tragic realities of having had a double mastectomy, many cultures are unaccepting and terrible things happen to women both physically and emotionally.”
Above all, McCartney wants the design to be an empowering piece of clothing for any women who uses it. “We just wanted to make something that allows women undergoing this to have something to be proud of, something with no shame attached,” she explained. “We wanted women to know that you can still be feminine, have your sensuality, have all of the things that are attached to being a woman and that part of your body can still feel beautiful on the outside, as well as the inside.”
The lingerie isn’t only about aesthetics, though. McCartney created it to be functional and practical for a post-mastectomy patient. It has deep sides, a wide underband, compression, and a zipper front for convenience.
The daughter of Linda and Beatles legend, Paul McCartney, finished her statement with an inspiring message for cancer patients. “Cancer and mastectomy cannot destroy you, they cannot win. We want to deliver on all fronts by providing technical support and comfort while women heal, without sacrificing on style, fashion, and fit. We wanted to give all of that to the woman who is battling through this,” she said.
McCartney is using the launch of Listening Louise to raise funds and awareness for the Hello Beautiful Foundation, an organization that hopes to build a center in London for breast cancer patients and their families. Hello Beautiful and the designer are working together to create the hashtag #nolessawoman to spread the message. Proceeds from the sale of the Listening Louise bra and another pink bra, the Alina Playing lingerie set, will also benefit foundations including the Linda McCartney Center in America and the National Breast Cancer Foundation in Australia.
What do you think of McCartney’s new lingerie? Tweet with @UsWeekly using the hashtag #stylebyUs!
