Internet trolls inspired me to launch a shapewear brand

2023-08-18 06:50:03

Internet trolls inspired me to launch a shapewear brand

As half of one of the most beloved couples in the history of Married at First Sight Australia, Jules Robinson attracted a legion of fans when she appeared on season six of the romantic reality show.

After ‘tying the knot’ on TV with former cricketer Cameron Merchant in 2019 (the pair later made it official with a legally binding ceremony), the bubbly redhead was shocked to discover that alongside the outpouring of positivity from viewers who followed the couple’s heartwarming love story, she received plenty of nasty comments online.

“It wasn’t like I was a villain or anything like that, but a lot of shade came with just being myself,” says Robinson, 41, on a video call from the London hotel where she’s spending the summer with Merchant and their two-year-old son Oliver while she launches her shapewear brand, Figur, in the UK.

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The former make-up artist, who now has 737k followers on Instagram, was a big hit with viewers during a season that featured a slew of tumultuous relationships and less-than-likeable characters.

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“Women would reach out to me and say ‘I love seeing curvy women on television’ and ‘I love your confidence’ and ‘I love the way that you dress’,” recalls Robinson, who was born in Sydney and lived in London for 14 years before returning home and applying for the phenomenally popular reality series.

“It was very clear that a lot of women didn’t feel like they were enough because of their body,” she continues, exuding the same warmth that made her so lovable on MAFSA.

“I was a natural, healthy, curvaceous size 14 woman, but then on the other side of that to be trolled and body shamed for being that – I put it all in a big mixing pot, and that’s when I came up with, like, well, I’m going to make it my superpower.”

After wearing unsatisfactory shapewear every day during the three months of shooting, she had a lightbulb moment one day and the idea for her first fashion business was born.

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“Shapewear makes me feel amazing when it doesn’t roll down. [I decided] I’m going to make it, so you can go to the toilet in it and make it really comfortable.

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“[It was] a bit of a finger up to the trolls – if all these women saw themselves in me, I want everyone to feel equal and feel represented.”

Funding Figur with the savings that were earmarked as the deposit for her first house, Robinson launched the brand in 2019 and weathered the storm of the pandemic, making seven times more sales in her second year of trading.

“I’m a big believer [that] when you accept yourself and your body and you know who you are, and you’ve got no hate or jealousy in your heart, [if] you don’t put that out onto anyone then that comes back to you,” she says.

Calling herself a ‘purpose entrepreneur’, the fashion-lover and body-positivity advocate has since launched clothing brand Moira Muse and owns a hair and make-up salon in Sydney.

“Underneath that piece of material it’s actually all you – no matter what shape or age you are, just work what you got and be grateful for the body that you’re in.”

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The shapewear enthusiast discovered she was pregnant weeks before her new venture was due to go live.

“I think I conceived Ollie in two months because I wasn’t thinking about it, I was so focused on the launch of Figur. And yes, it was a lot!”

The toddler has now started nursery in the UK and mum is hopeful he’ll have a sibling soon: “We’d really hoped to have an announcement this year for another baby but, you know, we’ll see when that happens.”

In the meantime, the much-loved influencer couple are focused on raising their little one alongside work commitments.

“Cam’s wonderful,” says Robinson. “He’s a great father, a great example of the modern-day man [with us] having equal roles within the family.

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“We just make it easy on each other and give each other the space to still be individuals, but parent [Ollie] together.”

Their relationship – one of the few success stories from MAFSA – is still going strong five years in, which Robinson believes is down to the couple’s communication skills.

“From the very beginning, we had to be very open and talk about our relationship openly,” she says.

“We’re very honest with each other – if it’s good, or it’s bad, we say how we feel. And I think that’s such a great foundation for our relationship.”

Now, the only thing she was to worry about work-wise is keeping up with another reality star turned shapewear guru, Kim Kardashian, who launched her Skims brand and maternity range at the same time as Figur’s hit the market.

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“I was like, ‘Just give me a break, Kim, come on, give the little girl from Australia a go, OK?!” Robinson says with a laugh.

“I think what she does is amazing. But, yeah, when we’ve been doing things at the same time I’m like, ‘I’m clearly onto something. I’m doing good.'”

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