Friday 24 July 2015

Spotlight on Nubian Skin

At Hosiery For Men we like to keep readers informed of key developments in the world of hosiery. That's why we always try to bring you news of retailers, products and anything that is new or creating a buzz.

Well a buzz has certainly been surrounding the brand that we feature here: Nubian Skin.



Created to provide a range of skin-tone tights and hold-ups for women of colour, Nubian Skin has already gained a high profile and is now available for purchase online and in stores.



We were excited to have the opportunity to interview the founder of Nubian Skin, Ade Hassan, and now publish the conversation we had.



Can you provide Hosiery For Men readers with some background to Nubian Skin? Why did you start the business and how has it developed?

Nubian Skin is a ‘nude’ lingerie and hosiery company for people of colour. Nubian Skin was essentially born out of frustration. I wanted a product that I couldn’t find in shops, so I decided to create it. I knew I couldn’t be the only one who felt the same way. So far the developments have included expanding our retail footprint and being stocked at several stockists, and we also added more back sizes in the bras about a couple of months ago. We're looking at doing a similar expansion for our tights size range in the near future.

What research did you do to develop your concept of skin-tone hosiery?

I visited a lot of research at makeup counters that carried products for darker skin tones such as MAC, Fashion Fair and BlackUp to see which of their colours were most popular amongst women with darker skin. Based on my findings I then selected my skintone pantone colours, but this was just the first stage, as this was for the colours of the bras - the tights actually required significantly more time because you can’t simply replicate the colour of a solid fabric to a sheer fabric! Two of the colours we got down pretty quickly, but two have taken a bit more effort. It even involved me boiling some of the colours I wasn’t satisfied with in massive pots of tea and coffee at various strengths to get the perfect colour…we got there in the end!

What were some of the particular challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

As a new and small business, manufacturers require pretty high minimums when you're custom dyeing, so it was a big financial commitment - especially as at that point we didn't have any stockists, but we really believed in the idea, so we took the leap!

When was the Nubian Skin range launched and what has been the reaction?

We launched in October 2014, so 10 months ago now! The reaction has been amazing and incredibly positive, and social media has been great for us. We receive a lot of e-mails just saying ‘thank you’ which is lovely.

Can you tell us more about the Nubian Skin tights and hold-ups? What features do they have and what kind of colour range is currently available?

All of the Nubian Skin tights and hold-ups are matt 10 denier and are available in the four signature ‘flavours’: Berry, Cinnamon, Caramel and Café au Lait. They are smooth and silky to the touch, and have a matt finish. The tights have a gusset, and the hold-ups have a silicon grip to keep them up.



CAFE AU LAIT tights



CARAMEL tights



CINNAMON tights




BERRY tights

There has been quite a lot of media coverage of tights for men in recent years. What are your thoughts about the greater visibility of men buying and wearing tights?I think it’s great – everybody should buy and wear whatever makes them feel good.

Do you welcome enquiries from men about Nubian Skin tights?We welcome all enquiries about Nubian Skin tights – we’ll have to be honest and say that tights for men are not our expertise, but we’ll definitely try and answer any questions!

To men thinking about trying tights, what would you say are the main benefits of wearing them?They give your legs a lovely finish, and can also keep you warm in chillier months.

How can people learn more about Nubian Skin?By visiting our website (www.nubianskin.com) and social media pages or by getting in touch via e-mail (info@nubianskin.com)

Thanks so much Ade for speaking to Hosiery For Men. We hope readers will enjoy the interview but also check out Nubian Skin products as well as tell more people about them.

1 comment:

  1. i wear pantyhose and tights everyday love the look of the pics above i wear for warmth, support the way my legs look when wearing plus the feel i buy womens tights and pantyhose cause more styles and colors not openly cause of public ridicule name calling i wear under my pants when out at home with shorts or a mini skirt cause is less constricting or with my mini when taking pictures to give it the fashion look

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