Two Midcoast entrepreneurs launch flat closure fashion line with debut of FlatWear Clothing
Tracy Friden and Becky Johnson, at work at FlatWear Clothing, in Camden. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
Becky Johnson wearing FlatWear Clothing’s Tailored Tank design. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
Little Black Top and Little Black Sun Dress - their first two designs available now on Kickstarter. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
FlatWear Clothing's Spring Collection
Tracy Friden and Becky Johnson, at work at FlatWear Clothing, in Camden. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
Tracy Friden and Becky Johnson, at work at FlatWear Clothing, in Camden. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
Becky Johnson wearing FlatWear Clothing’s Tailored Tank design. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
Little Black Top and Little Black Sun Dress - their first two designs available now on Kickstarter. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
FlatWear Clothing's Spring Collection
Tracy Friden and Becky Johnson, at work at FlatWear Clothing, in Camden. (Photo courtesy FlatWear Clothing)
Two local women are at full throttle in establishing their new venture, FlatWear Clothing, a line of fashion created in Camden, and inspired by a need to support women who have undergone mastectomies and have chosen a flat closure.
By its very mission, FlatWear Clothing is also a revolution in fashion design, focusing on what makes sense, feels right, and is empowering.
What is flat closure?
That is a medical term term defined in 2021 by the National Cancer Institute. Aesthetic flat closure applies to a surgical process used following mastectomies whereby a woman’s chest is surgically reshaped — a reconstruction of the chest wall — with fat removed and tissue tightening and smoothed flat.
It is a choice that rejects breast implants.
A 2021 UCLA study said: reasons given for the choice, "found women pointed to a desire for a faster recovery, avoidance of a foreign body placement and the belief that breast mound reconstruction was not important for their body image.”
Women deciding against breast implants, however, are thrust by circumstance into a contradictory fashion world. What does one wear when their body has changed so dramatically, and suddenly? It is a vulnerable time, to be laid low by a cancer diagnosis and invasive surgery, and then realize there is little support from broader culture.
“If she does her homework and finds not one company designing clothes tailored for flat women, it sends a message that her choice may not be supported,” say the founders of FlatWear Clothing, Becky Johnson and Tracy Friden.
They know this from personal experience. Johnson just five years ago was diagnosed with breast cancer. She elected for a double mastectomy, and joined hundreds of thousands of women who chose aesthetic flat closure instead of breast implants.
With that decision, she bucked convention, which assumes that post-mastectomy patients automatically want breast implants.
The dynamics are changing, as, "both the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Society for Oncoplastic Surgery‘s oncoplastic training courses include aesthetic flat closure technique," according to notputtingonashirt.org.
It’s just that fashion design has not caught up.
“I’m comfortable in my new skin, but not in my old clothes,” said Johnson. “After discovering that my clothes did not fit my new body, I went in search of flat fashion and found nothing.”
Enter the Johnson and Friden team.
Johnson, a real estate agent, met Friden, who was looking for property in Camden with her husband, Christopher. As Johnson scouted for a new home for the Fridens, they also established a friendship, which grew into a business partnership as they talked more about fashion, or the lack thereof, for the flat community.
Friden was an established designer, and both she and Johnson have strong entrepreneurial natures. They decided to fill a niche.
Over the last few years, the two have created the first official line of FlatWear Clothing, which is to debut this coming spring.
To get their financial seeds planted, they initiated a Kickstarter campaign, which is ending this coming Saturday, Nov 23, at midnight.
So far, 120 backers have stepped forward to support their new company. The money is to be used for producing the clothing pieces, fulfilling and sending orders to customers, and paying initial taxes.
"Our kickstarter goal gets us to production, but every dollar we raise beyond our minimum allows us to make more designs and to be more size inclusive," said Friden.
The Spring Collection will feature eight to 10 new flat designs, two of which, a Little Black Sun Dress and the Little Black Top, can be ordered now on their Kickstarter site.
“With hundreds of thousands of women choosing to go flat, we saw an opportunity to make a difference,” the two self acknowledged fashionistas said.
As they finish their Kickstarter campaign, they are looking ahead to establishing an online shop this coming spring. It is venture that focuses on sustainability, quality of materials, with manufacturing taking place, "at an eco-friendly, ethically run, women-owned, production company in New Delhi, India," said Johnson and Friden.
They pledge to evolve their collections, and while their ultimate goal is to be a resource for the flat community, the clothes are not just for post-mastectomy women. They are, in essence, for the flat-chested girls and women of the world.
"We won't be stagnant," said Friden and Johnson. "We'll introduce a limited number of new designs every spring and fall with careful attention to what's working and what isn't. As a small company we can be agile and respond to demand without overcommitting and creating unnecessary waste."
Learn more about FlatWear Clothing:
Instagram: instagram.com/flatwearclothing
Facebook: FlatWear Clothing
Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657
