Lizzo is discussing the contents of her underwear drawer. 

There are plunge bralettes, high-waisted briefs, bodysuits and thongs in shades of neon lime green and rosé, in addition to black, brown, nude and white under things. The assortment is a recent collection called Smooth Reality, a part of the singer’s fashion brand Yitty. It’s also the primary time the shapewear, activewear and loungewear business has fully ventured into intimates with its own collection. The assortment is dropping this month. 

“I’ve been wearing it for awhile now, because, you already know, lucky me, I get to wear all of the prototypes and stuff,” Lizzo told WWD over the phone from her home in Los Angeles. “I’m wearing Yitty, like, on daily basis on tour. It’s wild. I don’t even must, like, pack anything anymore because I just, like, throw Yitty [in a suitcase]. I wear my Yitty shapewear on stage. I actually have my Yitty bodysuits that I wear in the primary half of the show. After the show, I’m in, like, Pet Me by Yitty. I’m in my Major Label once I work out. Like, I’m just within the Yitty-verse, fully.”

She’s not the just one. Fans all over the place are moving into Lizzo’s Yitty universe anyway they’ll, whether by means of her albums, concert events, reality show, “Love, Lizzo” documentary or fashion brand Yitty, which she said is “completely sold out, on a regular basis, of all the pieces.”

It’s no surprise then that the Grammy-winning singer is busy. Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, just got back from Latest York, where she made her second musical appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” She’s also touring, promoting her next album (scheduled for summer 2023) and growing her Yitty brand. But she was in a position to squeeze in 10 minutes to talk with WWD in regards to the brand’s latest expansion plans. 

“We’re going to offer mainly, like, the nippiness version of Nearly Naked,” Lizzo said. “I need to wear something for my on a regular basis [outfit], you already know? And so, I used to be like, we want to do something that’s, like, you already know, the sister of Nearly Naked, where we’ve got this high-compression, holds-you-in, all of that. But now we want something that’s, like, smoother, softer, and like, if you just wish to throw on a bra and panties.” 

Yitty’s expansion comes at an interesting time. After nearly three years of lockdown loungewear and consumers buying little greater than stay-at-home bras and underwear — and nearly every major fashion house (and a couple of celebrity brands too) peddling their innerwears — consumers have never had more options to pick from within the intimates category. Some critics say there’s no room left out there for brand new players. At the identical time, activewear continues to trend. And the return of in-person events puts shapewear back within the highlight. 

Lizzo — who cofounded Yitty (named after her childhood nickname) in March 2022 with Fabletics Inc., parent company to Kate Hudson’s activewear brand Fabletics — said she’s “right on time.” 

“I don’t think you possibly can say the market is oversaturated with shapewear,” she said. “Once I was first taking meetings about shapewear, there have been only, perhaps, three or 4 brands. Comparatively to, like, different kinds of apparel [categories] that’s relatively small. So, I feel like Yitty got here at, like, the proper time.”

She added that current demand for the product is so high that she hasn’t considered selling the brand or merging with an even bigger company to assist scale.

“I don’t think that’s mandatory without delay,” Lizzo said. “Yitty is doing a wonderful job without delay, on our own. And Yitty has just began, so I feel I just wish to concentrate on my brand without delay.

“Yitty is, like, mainly a dream within the making,” the entrepreneur continued. “I feel like I, you already know, all the time needed to make my very own way in the style world. At all times needed to have identical to people make outfits for me, cuz, I fit a variety of the garments. And I actually have a variety of ideas that I need to execute that, you already know, just simply didn’t exist. So when Yitty began, it was more so of, like, I would like to make something for myself. I would like to love…I intend to make a product that I can wear and that I will be comfortable in, starting with shapewear.”

As of late, talk of diversity and inclusion is ubiquitous in the style industry. However the musician has all the time been outspoken about embracing her size — “back rolls and all, and showing them love,” as per one Instagram post — even before the body positivity movement was trending. Still, Lizzo isn’t celebrating. And he or she was reluctant to say whether she felt the body positivity movement was authentic — or merely performative. 

“I feel, like, everyone should ask themselves, ‘How is my shopping experience? How’s my shopping experience been?’” Lizzo said. “In my lifetime, it doesn’t matter what your body type is like, I’ve heard people all the time struggle to search out something that they like that matches them, you already know? So, I don’t know. I can’t answer that query for you. I do know what Yitty is doing. And we’re doing the work to be inclusive. And never only for the sake of being inclusive but simply because we would like to. Simply because we are able to. And I feel that speaks volumes. 

“It’s not only selling an item, but, like, selling a sense,” she continued. “I don’t ever wish to force people to buy something. And I feel I’ve been in the identical boat. Which is why I began a brand that’s identical to, on your individual terms. And I feel, obviously, you already know, people were so excited in regards to the shapewear [that] we’re continuing to expand our brand into different kinds of apparel.” 

Yitty, which launched with three collections — Nearly Naked, Mesh Me and Major Label — now includes the Pet Me, Headliner and Smooth Reality lines, encompassing the shapewear, loungewear, activewear and intimates categories. And the singer said there’s more to return. 

“The sky’s the limit,” Lizzo said. “I mean, there’s a lot that we are able to do with Yitty. And everybody’s been loving what we’ve got already. So we are able to go anywhere.”

Smooth Reality, which drops Sunday, is offered on Yitty.com The gathering is available in sizes XS to 6XL and ranges in price from $15.95 to $59.95.