Chromat Turns 10 With a Push Toward a New Kind of Inclusivity

It’s been a decade since Becca McCharen-Tran started her body-positive swim and activewear label Chromat. Few companies hit the 10th-anniversary milestone, but Chromat has defied the odds by helping to change the fashion conversation. Known for its groundbreaking runway shows that set the standard for body positivity with their all-sizes, -ages, -races, and -abilities casting, it was built on the idea of inclusivity. As McCharen-Tran’s vision inspired countless #ChromatBabes worldwide, the brand’s internal market research showed that its followers still faced barriers when it came to accessing the designs in real life. “The biggest piece of feedback was that people love Chromat because of our mission and who we are celebrating on the runway, which was very evident throughout our social channels,” shared McCharen-Tran on the phone from Miami. “There was also a huge response about how the price point was too high for a lot of people.”

While some would address the issue with a diffusion line or mass-market collaboration, McCharen-Tran took the customer-is-always-right adage one step further by switching to a direct-to-consumer business model ahead of tonight’s Spring 2020 collection. From this week on, Chromat will be sold through its website. “It was just a big question of who we are, what our goals are, and who we want to be,” she says. “I’ve grown up in the creative community, and I know what it’s like to be a creative person, to be an artist, and to be on an artist’s budget. I’ve never wanted to exclude anyone based on their ability to afford a $300 swimsuit. So I think the more accessible we can be in our price point, the more inclusive we can be overall.”

By taking things in-house, McCharen-Tran also hopes to offer her clients a wider range of options. “It allows us to be more responsive,” she says. “We don’t have to wait for feedback from wholesalers to tell us what’s selling and what isn’t.” The change also opens the door for frequent updates and new styles geared toward customer tastes. “Now it’s really up to us when we decide to do drop collections,” she says. “I was [in Miami] this past July, and it was my first time not sitting in a trade show selling the collection to wholesalers. It felt like graduating high school! No longer do I have to worry if anyone thinks this is cool; I have to worry [about whether or not] I think it’s interesting and whether the people I’m designing it for agree.”

Of course, the premium materials and innovative silhouettes aren’t going anywhere, nor will the brand move away from its ethical principles. “We work with factories that follow labor laws where everyone makes a fair wage, and we use sustainable materials from Italy, so we didn’t want to change any of that,” says McCharen-Tran. “The biggest things that were getting us to that price point were the wholesale markups.”

With a successful partnership with Reebok launched earlier this year and her anniversary collection only moments away, McCharen-Tran is focused on her brand’s future, but she hints at a retrospective element within tonight’s runway. “We’ve had so many great concepts and collaborators, it was fun to look back at the last 10 years,” she says. “The latex, 3-D printing, LEDs, and inflatables—so many artists and craftspeople in all different fields have worked with us to create those moments. We’re bringing back a lot of them to create new pieces in those techniques and to think about the future of Chromat and the world.” Rest assured that whatever is featured will be dynamic and accessible for all. “I think about all the different ways that we can break down the barriers of exclusivity in fashion,” says McCharen-Tran. “That’s what we want to do.”

Originally Appeared on Vogue