ModCloth Just Opened Up About Women's Issues

Where's the best place to have a feminist-friendly, in-depth discussion with your friends about social justice issues? A hot tub, duh. Vintage vibes brand ModCloth's Hot Tub Round Table brought together a diverse and successful group of the brand's community members to pose in MC's latest swimwear line. The ladies proceeded to have some hard-hitting discussions about women's issues on camera. They "talk[ed] about the unique challenges facing women with dot-com start-ups, including dealing with online haters, fervent fans, and how to measure true success," as outlined in ModCloth's accompanying blog post.

Not only did ModCloth facilitate the conversation, but it joined in, too. With the company's founder and CEO Susan Gregg Koger joining Superfit Hero's Micki Krimmel, Tassel Fairy and Studio Mucci founder Amina Mucciolo, and pink-haired founder of Whurl Samantha Kuntz, this is the hot tub version of King Arthur's round table.

Several other women also took part in an original photo shoot for this swim campaign, including comedian Riley Silverman, model Hope Steinman-Iacullo, musician Kayli Kaufmann, curator "Team Sparkle" Tish, and ModCloth team members Meredith Petro, Janine Trame, Lisa DeFelice, Shanae Steen, Hannah Jacobs, and Marian McNaughton.

Evidently, ModCloth is committed to representing the diversity of its shoppers, spreading the message that IRL women and feminine people come in all different shapes and sizes. And that we should each get to feel fabulous in our swimwear.

As the brand put it in the blog post for the campaign, "Women are so much more than their measurements [...] Our goal is to represent women for who they are — confident, intelligent, and fun. We strive to continue to positively portray women by recognizing their capabilities and contributions, regardless of their size, and inspire body positivity across the spectrum."

The post goes on to note, "Our founder, Susan, took the conversation to the hot tub, where you’re free to speak the unspoken — plus, who doesn’t love hot tubbing? — with a few awe-inspiring female entrepreneurs who are making their mark on the world."

The women talk about business, yes. But also about themselves. Studio Mucci's Amina Mucciolo, for instance, discussed the real rewards of becoming a public figure through owning your own business: inspiring others.

"As I'm becoming more visible," she said, "I'm really getting a lot of feedback from other girls who look like me and other girls who have the same interests as I do and don't feel represented [...] [It's great] to hear that I'm just being myself, I'm just doing my thing, and it resonates with people."

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Mucciolo hit the nail on the head, both in terms of what this ModCloth campaign is trying to do, as well as what businesswomen as a whole have to appreciate. Their work will often be seen and taken in by a public audience, and that comes with a responsibility: A responsibility to represent the people who will be purchasing from them. A responsibility to spread positivity over negativity.

By making this campaign video, rather than leaving things at the photo shoot, ModCloth took feminist branding to a new, and inspiring, level.

Images: Courtesy ModCloth