翁迪尔 If you’re sick of the typical pinkwashing that comes with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this is the reframing you need. Lonely Lingerie is combining powerful photography with incredible women for a celebration of life that goes way beyond your typical pink-splattered beauty product. The Lonely Girls Project, a photo-based effort created by the lingerie brand, is teaming up with cancer nonprofit Sweet Louise to release a photo series that perfectly encompasses what Breast Cancer Awareness Month is all about. There’s even a way for you to get involved, too.
When the Lonely Girls Project started, it was a way for Lonely Lingerie to feature women of all sizes and experiences wearing lingerie their way. While the idea of this breast cancer-focused series is still the same, the Lonely Girls Project is getting a very special upgrade in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October.
For October, the Lonely Girls Project features three women living with incurable cancer in New Zealand in unretouched lingerie shots. The spread is in partnership with Sweet Louise, a charitable organization dedicated to providing support and resources to women living with incurable types of cancer in New Zealand.
Each woman chose her own lingerie outfit for the shoot and got to experience a day to celebrate their bodies and spread a message of positivity.
“I thought I would be self-conscious and embarrassed on the day, but not at all,” Marian, one of the women photographed, said in a press release. “I loved the day and I love the lingerie. The sets make me feel special when I wear them… It is fantastic to have such beautiful pieces that actually fit a larger frame — and an older one.”
Through the moving photo series, Lonely Lingerie reminds us of those often forgotten in the conversation around breast cancer — those who are unlikely to survive their diagnosis.
The powerful photo series is incredible, to say the least. The women look stunning and show that the brand’s clothing is for women of all sizes, ages, and experiences. But the cause doesn’t stop with mere photos.
Lonely Lingerie also commissioned local New Zealand artist Ophelia Mikkelson to design a top for the cause, too. The plain white T-shirt features a minimalist silhouette of a body that’s perfect for spreading an empowering message — and keeping breast cancer awareness and prevention on the brain — far beyond October.
You can shop the gorgeous design for $80 on Lonely Lingeries’s website right now through the rest of the month.
The shirt might be pricey, but it’s all for good reason. The brand will be donating 100 percent of proceeds from the tee to the Breast Cancer Foundation in New Zealand. The organization uses donations to funding research, education, and prevention initiatives, and support for those going through their breast cancer journey, according to the website.
“It is coming up 10 years now since I was diagnosed, and I think about it every day,” Maggie, one of the women photographed, said in the release. “The day my husband and I were told at best I had a 10 percent chance of survival was an absolute nightmare.
“I was and am not ready to give up on that 10 percent. My family means the world to me, and I have not yet seen enough of what my two fantastic children will achieve in their lives to stop watching.”