Has a bra ever ruined your day? Whether you’ve endured a wrestling match to get yours on, struggled to find a size and fit that made you feel great, or had difficulty using a closure due to mobility challenges or pain, there are so many ways bras can leave us feeling unsupported.
Enter: Liberare, the maker of an accessible new bra for all. Says founder Emma Butler, “We named the brand Liberare from the Latin word “freedom.” Freedom is exactly what we’re trying to bring at Liberare: the freedom to get dressed with ease, to feel like yourself, and start your day on your terms (not in the clutches of a horrible bra!)”
In conversation with Attn: Grace co-founder, Alexandra Fennell, here’s Emma with much more on building her business of revolutionary bras.
Alex: What is the origin story of Liberare? How did the idea emerge? Where did the name come from?
Emma: I started Liberare when my mother was struggling with her bras after developing chronic pain in her hands and shoulders in her 40s. She searched….and searched for a good, comfortable front-closure bra but came up empty. The front-closure bras we had found in our quest to find mom an easy-on bra had scratchy velcro, fiddly zippers that created the dreaded uniboob, or tiny clasps that were unmanageable. They were hard enough to put on, and once they were on, they were horribly uncomfortable. I knew right then and there I needed to create a better option for her.
After years of development and testing on hundreds of women, we created our secret sauce: The HeroHold™ magnetic front-closure bra. Now, it’s been named “Best Bra for Older Women” and recognized in Good Housekeeping and Vogue even wrote about our bra last year. From cups A - G, we’ve now helped more women than I could ever imagine (including my mother, who is absolutely in love with the bras).
Alex: I’d love to know more about the customer you had in mind when creating your bras. At Attn: Grace we are focused on a woman who has been left behind by conventional solutions, and I know you are too. How do you serve her where others have fallen short?
Emma: What our team didn’t know when we designed these magnetic adaptive front-closure bras is just how many different types of women might want the bras. We have breastfeeding moms who wear our bras since the magnetic front closure can be undone with one hand, we have women post-surgery who can’t bend, women with one arm. I wanted to be sure every woman could easily put on our bra. Experience limited hand dexterity at some point in life is a common experience and our comfy easy-on bra is a lifesaver when that happens.
One of our employees lives with one hand and another is a quadriplegic. These two women are not only closely involved in designing the bras, but are also our first line of testing to make sure all of our bras are truly easy-on.
Alex: How is the Liberare bra different from traditional bras? Why is accessibility so important in this space?
Emma: Unlike other front-closure bras, Liberare’s bras actually have a magnetic front-closure. This makes it incredibly easy for anyone with limited hand dexterity or shoulder mobility to put the bra on. But it’s not the magnets holding up a G cup, it’s actually a 3-way latching mechanism that keeps you secure.
Our bras can be put on with one hand, limited hand dexterity or shoulder mobility. There are millions of women with rotator cuff injury, arthritis, frozen shoulder, chronic pain, or recovering from surgery that need an easy-on comfortable bra.
Alex: How do you ensure that Liberare’s products not only meet functional needs but also empower those who wear them?
Emma: We spent a lot of time making sure our bras were extra easy to put on and ultimately, super comfortable no matter the bust size. Our primary focus was on functionality. There was absolutely nothing more important than these two elements: comfort and easy-on.
But we deserve bras that aren’t just functional, but also beautiful and flattering on our curves.I had seen all the bras my mom was shopping for before I started Liberare and they didn’t bring her any confidence.
That’s where the fun came into designing these products. For some bras, we chose lace racerbacks, others we chose the softest knit fabric we could find, and in others we chose the sleekest & most smooth sculpting fabric. Diving into fabrics and colors has been so fun to bring confidence to every woman that wears our bras.
Alex: What’s next for Liberare? How do you see the company and this industry of adaptive fashion evolving?
Emma: We have so many more bras to release! Every day we get emails from customers asking for underwire bras, sports bras, or bras in pinks and reds. We are excited to release more sizes, colors and silhouettes. There's a world of possibility for what’s next.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Emma! We share the passion for comfort and confidence that drives Liberare. To complete your journey into the land of all things soft, comfy, and necessary to live life on your terms, visit our shop to explore the pads and personal care extras. See you over there!
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This content is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.