Emma Butler and the Liberare team of powerhouse disabled women are changing the game.
On July 7th, 2022, we sat down with the 24 year old Founder and CEO of Liberare, an adaptive intimates brand designed by disabled women that launched in February 2022. Emma Butler started Liberare while at Brown University to help her chronically ill mom get dressed easier. In August, Liberare launched its collaboration with Aerie to bring adaptive intimates to the Aerie community. Liberare has been featured in Vogue, Glamour, Forbes, and Cosmopolitan.
Benedict:
Hi, Emma Butler.
Emma:
Hi! It's so nice to be here.
Benedict:
Great to have you! So, I just thought we’d hop right in. When did Liberare launch?
Emma:
Liberare launched in February of 2022 under a different name, under Intimately. But the story of Liberare, and the research and development for the product really started in 2018. So, it was a really long journey, and I started working on it full time in 2020, but our products came to the market in February of 2022.
Benedict:
Which is awesome and very exciting. So why did you start it?
Emma:
I started it because about 10 years ago, my mom started living with chronic pain and it became very difficult for her to get dressed and, especially with limited hand dexterity and limited shoulder mobility, putting on clothing, especially bras and underwear, was really difficult. And when I met more people with different disabilities, when I went to college, I learned that a lot of my girlfriends were having the same struggles: that putting on bras especially, and underwear, were really difficult. You know, those hook-and-eyes on the back of a bra are just so, so hard to do. And there were no options out there that were really functional and really fashionable. And so I wanted everyone to be able to have an empowering experience with intimates because we know intimates are so closely tied with feeling desirable and beautiful and confidence. And so I was 21 and it had been 10 years since my mom was first diagnosed with chronic pain. And there were no options that I thought were beautiful and sexy in the way that I wanted. And so I thought if no one else is gonna do this, I guess I will, even though I was 21.
Benedict:
It actually kind of seems like you were called to do this a little bit, without any kind of religious implications. I just mean, circumstantially, a lot of people go to college and they don't really meet anyone that's living with a disability, you know? And for you to have a bunch of girlfriends and have those conversations because, circumstantially, you already had your mom, it's almost like the perfect storm for you to come about and create this.
Emma:
Yeah, I totally agree. There were so many pieces at play. Whether it was the accessibility of my university or my friends being able to be vulnerable and open up and talk about their disabilities and feel comfortable. Dressing is a very intimate experience, and especially when it comes to bras and underwear, and so being able to have those moments with my friends to understand how it is to get dressed and being able to think about other solutions together was really important. And so a lot of things fell into place and I had a lot of amazing people and circumstances that allowed me to start this company.
Benedict:
That's fantastic. So what products are you offering right now?
Emma:
Right now, the collection that we've designed is six pieces. It's two bras, two underwear and a sleepwear set. We currently only have them in black, but we have a new color coming this summer, which we're very excited about. Our staple bra, and perhaps our hero and favorite bra among our customers, is called the Liberare Bra. It's a front opening bra with magnets and grip loops. It also has a racerback with a beautiful lace panel. And what we were really trying to do with this bra is make it just so, so easy to put on an everyday bra. We wanted to eliminate the hook-and-eye, which is in the back, move it to the front because that twisting mechanism of putting on bras or having to hook in the back is just so difficult for non-disabled people and disabled people alike. So, we moved it to the front. And then instead of hook-and-eyes, we did our three piece interlocking magnets that have a three-way puzzle lock system. So it's the magnets that guide it together, which allow for really easy fastening, but ultimately it's a threeway locking system that keeps it in place.
We get questions about if the bra is really going to be able to stick and stay all day. You can do any type of movement, anything at all, jump up and down, move in any way, lift weights, anything you want to do - I don't know if you'd maybe want a sports bra for that - but, anything you want to do, you'll be perfect because it's the magnets that guide, and it's a three way locking system that keep it in place, and it easily tears apart. Another feature of our bra that's our favorite is our grip loops. If you have limited hand dexterity, whether that's you live with one arm, you have arthritis, you just don't have much functionality in your fingers, you can pull the magnets together using our grip loops. Slide in a digit, or a finger, or prosthetic arm, or whatever it is you're using to close it, and it will fasten right away.
Benedict:
Amazing. I really like your comment about the fact that bras with fasteners in the back are just difficult for everybody. And this approach to making bras easier to get on, and sexy at the same time, is just a more universal design approach to the intimates.
Emma:
Absolutely.
Benedict:
Everybody should just wear these.
Emma:
Exactly. I mean, bras were designed a hundred years ago and everything else in our lives has been updated. Whether it’s our methods of communication, how we live, what we eat, everything. We can send a man to the moon, but we still have to wear these big bras? And so that is definitely one of the elements that we love about designing - balancing the fact that our products are definitely for everybody - but we want to also give a space for disabled people who have been left out of the conversation of desirability and confidence, and the intimates experience. So we definitely want to balance those things beautifully, where we have a community that we love and wants to flourish; of disabled people who have been left out of the fashion industry. And then also just knowing that I am a non-disabled person and I wear our products and our bras and underwear because they're beautiful, they're functional, and why wouldn't you?
Benedict:
Absolutely. It's a total game changer. It seems like a lot of research has gone into the products. How did you go about that?
Emma:
It started with just asking friends and family members about getting dressed. And then I realized that I wanted to touch on so many different types of disabilities and really create a product that could help so many different types of disabilities. So, when I was in college, I would just message people on Instagram, new friends with different disabilities and ask if I could ask a few questions about creating a product. And a few friends and family turned into hundreds and hundreds of interviews over three or four years. Ultimately, what was really powerful was hiring a team of disabled women to help build Liberare and be right there informing the product decisions. That's something that we take a lot of pride in: our team. Whether that is the construction [of the product] or choosing the lace, everybody on our team gets to have a say. And I think when we have disabled designers the products are going to be better. I encourage a lot of big organizations - I guess it's a different topic for another time - to hire disabled people because you're going to create better products that are universally designed better for everybody.
Benedict:
Looking at the site, it really does seem like you have an incredible team working with you and just working together to help Liberare grow. Tell us a little bit about the team.
Emma:
My partner in crime - I guess you could say partner in not-crime - is Alyssa Silva, and she is our Chief Creative Officer. Alyssa has been an influencer in the disability space for many years now. She's also an artist and has her own shop. She is a true creative and has done all of the branding for Liberare. She also helps inform on products, product decisions, and she is the creative brains behind Liberare entirely, which is really important to us, to make sure that we get our messaging right, and our branding right, while I'm more of the business strategy person. We also have our lead designer, Maddie, who has been designing intimates for the last 10 years. We have Gemma who just came on board, who lives in London and she is our marketing executive, and she is also a model and she's disabled. We have Emma - another Emma - we have Emma, Emma and Gemma, which gets very confusing, and then Alia and Alyssa! Emma Bailey is another artist who is disabled and lives in a wheelchair, and she is an incredible person behind all of our social media strategy. That's her. And she is really wonderful. We have Alia who's our logistics coordinator who lives in Colorado. And so we're spread out all across the world. We all come together and everybody on the team has different types of disabilities, different perspectives, different backgrounds, but ultimately we're all just really excited about making fashionable and functional intimates to empower as many people as we can.
Benedict:
And it's amazing, I think, from the standpoint of modeling for young women, too. And I don't mean modeling in the fashion sense, I mean role modeling. And I think your company, through and through - from you to each member that you just shared with us, and how you're working together as a team, and what you're putting out into the world - everything about it is a really positive influence to the young women in the world that are growing up right now, and is something for them to look forward to. As a dad to a daughter, for sure, I just think it's fantastic. So there's some really positive side effects of what you're doing.
Emma:
That means a lot. Thank you. It's been interesting navigating the business world as a disability focused company and also employing folks with disabilities. I am excited to see more disabled entrepreneurs one day in the future and also more disabled-run companies, and so whatever we can do to inspire the women in our community to take that entrepreneurial leap. Whether it's a small part of their life, whether it's Emma Bailey and Alyssa, for example, on our team who both have their own art shops - which we absolutely love - and whether it's part-time or full-time, I'm so excited to see more disabled creatives pursuing their passion. And so, whatever we can do to inspire, we're excited about that.
Benedict:
Speaking about Alyssa, the chief Creative Officer, looking at your website and your social media platforms (@liberare.co), the whole brand just feels sexy and powerful. From the products to the design of the site and its fonts and photography, how do people respond when they first discover Liberare for the first time?
Emma:
Well, first of all, I'm going to have to tell Alyssa that because that's wonderful and I'm actually meeting her for the first time in person today because we've been social distancing for the last two years that she's been working with me, so I'm so excited.
When I started in 2018, I started making Instagram,and the colors I chose were green and orange. That's not really my forte. Everything that you see is Alyssa's brainchild and we'd recently done a relaunch and a rebrand and wanted to really capture that idea of being sexy and empowering. And every single day we get emails, messages on our Instagram, TikTok, everything … DMs saying, “It really means a lot to me that you're creating such an empowering brand and seeing it in such a sexy and desirable light.” That's really every day we get those comments and every single day our team is so grateful that we receive those comments because we did put a lot of work into creating a brand that has all of those emotions attached to it. And it wasn't easy. The fact that we're getting so much recognition - every single message means so much to us. And we're going to keep doing it and keep creating more beautiful products. One side of the coin is the representation and the beauty of the products and the lace and the details. But the other part is the functionality, and we're really excited that we are able to marry those two in the intimate space.
Benedict:
I just have to keep saying the same thing. It really is fantastic. What do people have to look forward to with Liberare? Is there anything else you're excited to share about that's coming up? You mentioned a new color.
Emma:
Yes. We have a new color and we have new sizes coming soon. That's been something that we've been asked for. Right now we have our bras from XXS to XXXL, but we'll be increasing that and we'll also be doing band and cup sizes soon. There can be over 40 band and cup sizes, and so we're working on that. So if anyone's reading, and is interested in that, we have a link on our website, under “Coming Soon!” where you can enter your bra and underwear size so that we can order the correct amount. Because with over 40 sizes in cups and bands, we just want to make sure that we order the right ones, the most desired ones. So yeah, that's exciting. And we've been working on more products in a range. Some folks have been asking for even sexier and some folks have been asking for even comfier. So we're trying out new materials in the comfy space, and new silhouettes, and also adding in new fasteners that aren't magnetic because we know that that's something that some folks are interested in.
Benedict:
Oh my gosh. And with the front closures, you know, for all the partnered-up people out there, for the members of the partnerships that are not used to opening or closing bras, think of the embarrassment that is going to be saved for all of those partners! Like, “Wow, this is so easy!” <Laugh>
Emma:
Exactly, exactly. That's really the reason we're doing Liberare. <laugh>
Benedict:
Like, eyes closed, one-handed, no-handed, it'll just facilitate so many experiences for people. <Laugh>
Emma:
Exactly. So easy.
Benedict:
That's what we want. Easy, comfortable, sexy. That's really what we are after, though, in the adaptive space. I think it’s what was lacking for so long. It's what Izzy [Camilleri] really set out to do. Even with wardrobe basics. Function has been around for a while, but when all of the marketing, let alone the products, was just so focused on function, it left self-expression and sexiness and style, and therefore freedom, out the door.
Emma:
Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more.
Benedict:
So, last question: what is on your listening playlist at the moment?
Emma:
My listening playlist,
Benedict:
Yes.
Emma:
My listening playlist - well, I'm going to have to add your music, absolutely - But my most listened to song is my sister's song called Old New England Town by the Sea, by Zoe Butler. And it's a song that's about the town that we grew up in and it's a really perfect summer song for falling in love or just being able to walk along the beaches of New England by yourself. So I love that. And then I've also been liking Holly Humberstone - I think she's from the UK. I love her. I love a little country. And I have also been listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne recently. Kind of a diverse portfolio, and then also Harry Style’s new album. So that's the songs of the summer. But that's a good question. What's on your playlist?
Benedict:
In the last couple of weeks, I listened to a ton of seventies, and eighties, and some nineties, hits in preparation for a gig. There was a lot of disco there, but I'm trying to think about what I've been listening to recently outside of that. Sometimes, when I'm learning a lot of music in a short period of time, that's all I have space to listen to. I discovered a great duo recently called Ocie Elliot. Oh, you know what I've been listening to on repeat that I just can't stop listening to is Pretty Please by Dua Lipa - you know that song?
Emma:
I don't. Okay. I'm gonna have to, because I do enjoy some Dua Lipa, but okay.
Benedict:
Yeah. It's just so catchy. And I have actually been meaning to listen to the new Harry Styles album. I've only listened, so far, to Music for a Sushi Restaurant. That's the only song I've heard. I'm excited to hear the rest of the album.
Emma:
My one piece of advice is that you have to listen to every song at least three times before it hits.
Benedict:
Right.
Emma:
Which is not typically my thing, but also Little Freak by Harry styles is a good song.
Benedict:
I bet. I love the Discover Weekly playlist by Spotify because I just alway end up hearing stuff that I haven't heard before that I do really love. And I have a playlist called Shazam/SoundHound, and it's like 240+ songs, and the whole vibe of the playlist is songs that, when you're out and about, cause you to think to yourself, “Ooooooh, what's that?!” So the whole vibe of the playlist is [my experience of], “Oh, what's that?!” … It’s my “Oh, what's that?!” playlist. And [for anyone that makes their own] it's going to be diverse. And therefore it's always eclectic. For me, it's full of all kinds of different things. Sometimes there's songs that I do know, but I can't remember the artist and it still gives me that feeling, so I Shazam it or I SoundHound it and then I add it to the playlist. Sometimes I don't even use Shazam or SoundHound; I just say out loud, “Oh, what's that?!” And someone tells me, and then I just add it to the playlist.
Emma:
How did you make this playlist?
Benedict:
Basically, because Shazam and SoundHound tell you your history. And I realized after a period of time that I'd Shazamed all of these songs and had never actually added them to any kind of a playlist. They were just sitting there. So it took a while to clear out the history and get it organized, but now that I have, [when a song comes on that gives me that feeling] I Shazam it or I SoundHound it, and then, in the respective app, I add it to the playlist because you can link Spotify to those apps. I add it to that specific playlist and then I just delete it from the Shazam or SoundHound search history. Then I know it's done, it's taken care of, I've added it to the list. It's this growing list of songs. And sometimes I hear songs in that playlist and I realize that I don't really like them. Maybe I just heard them in a loud space, or one part of the beat kind of sounded cool, but, actually, now that I'm hearing the song again, I'm like, nah, and then I delete it. Sometimes if it no longer gives me the, “Oh yeah, what’s that?!” vibe. It gets booted off the playlist. Anyhow, really nice to connect! thank you so much for sitting down, today.
Emma:
Yes!
Checkout Emma’s company at www.liberare.co or find them on TikTok or Instagram @liberare.co for lots of fantastic content and to stay in touch. Don’t forget to sign up to their newsletter.
