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Entrepreneur Viya Qu’s skirt brand, unseem, was born with a purpose: making people of all genders feel free, safe, and powerful while expressing their femininity.
Through unseem, Viya has reinvented the miniskirt in an effort to put an end to the cultural—and often self-imposed—limitations that come with exposing our legs during the summer.
After an overwhelming response on the brand’s Kickstarter page, the site she has used to raise funds for the project, the first batch of unskirts by unseem is ready for delivery!
SciGlam: Why is the expression of femininity dear to you?
Viya Qu: Let’s say that I didn’t have a conventional childhood; growing up in a small town in mainland China, my mom raised me like a boy—she always wanted a boy—and it wasn’t until university that I could fully explore my femininity.
How did you feel the first time you wore a miniskirt?
Oh man, my first time wearing a miniskirt was a night out in year one with American exchange students. I don’t think I ever wore a miniskirt in front of my parents. Shorts yes, but not skirts.
It was like indulging in the forbidden fruit. On the one side, I wanted to wear miniskirts to expose my legs and, at the time, I only felt comfortable wearing them among the foreign exchange students, knowing they wouldn’t be judging me as much…
It wasn’t just about the skirt. It was about my twisted definition of femininity, my objectification of my own body, and the oppression I faced from my family and my culture—and, of course, my rebellion against that oppression.
On the other side, I was judging myself as my parents would: “This is too short, you don’t have any self-respect. As a girl, this is not how you should dress…” I was fully aware of my own thoughts, but I decided to oppose them anyway. It was like liberation in secrecy.
It wasn’t just about the skirt. It was about my twisted definition of femininity, my objectification of my own body, and the oppression I faced from my family and my culture—and, of course, my rebellion against that oppression.
Do you think the way we dress reflects our personality?
Yes, absolutely! How we dress every day reflects our personality, our mood of the day, our opinion on our surroundings, and even our political views.
You have reinvented “skorts” (skirt-shorts) with unseem. How is your design different from the ones already available on the market?
The unskirt is the first wrap skirt with hidden shorts and a phone-sized pocket. Our design is patent pending with USPTO. It has no elastic, button, zipper, or stretchy nylon, and will provide an inclusive fit. We aim to be a premium skirt brand that focuses on both form and functionality.
How we dress every day reflects our personality, our mood of the day, our opinion on our surroundings, and even our political views.
What do you want to evoke with the slogan “Its (not) just a skirt”?
I want the audience first to understand the product (a skirt), then to think about what makes it “not just a skirt”, leading to the conscious and unconscious stereotypes, and some social problems associated with them.
Unseem was created as a genderless brand, but we don’t necessarily all have the same bodies. How have you taken this issue into account?
Unskirt by unseem is inclusive by design. Our wrap skirt comes with an adjustable waistband, so it adapts to any body type within a size range. We have tested unskirt in people of all genders and lifestyles. Everybody seems to feel pretty comfortable wearing unskirts.
Fashion is seen in many cases as a polluting and unethical industry. Is unseem a sustainable brand?
Yes, I know. Getting into fashion as a complete outsider, I’m fully aware of the problem as a frustrated consumer. Now, I face the dilemma as a business owner. For a very early-stage company without a big audience, like unseem, this is a chicken-egg problem.
My goal is to be as sustainable as possible within my knowledge and capacity. For example, we only use recycled or biodegradable materials; one of the unskirt is made with recycled polyester, which consists of 9.5 recycled plastic bottles, and spandex. And another version is made with 100% Tencel, which is a fabric produced with eucalyptus fibre. We eliminate zippers, elastic or buttons from all our designs, which makes it easy to recycle and reuse. Although the recycling of polyester has a limit, because it can only be recycled for a limited amount of times.
In addition, we collect our cutoffs from the production studio and find creative ways to reuse them. Moving forward, we want to build a brand that can sustain itself by issuing limited runs of products through community and collaborations.
When it comes to production, we want to keep it small and close. We end up working with a local production team in Montreal; it allows us to understand the process better, to work directly with the community, and maintain a higher level of transparency.
Each unskirt has a QR code. What for?
We are committed to sustainability and transparency in our values, design, and processes. I thought that adding QR codes was a good way for customers to find who made their skirt, when it was made and how many fabrics were used. It’s only available for people who own an unskirt, and we invite our customers to be our committee and to help us to grow in a healthier and collaborative way.
What about colors? At the moment, unseem only offers neutral colors. Will there be new colors and patterns in the near future?
So far, we only offer the unskirt in black for its versatility, but we will definitely incorporate other colors and patterns in the future.
If you could ask a scientist of any background a question, what would it be?
What does it take for a person to master art and science at the same time?
Answer by neuroscientist and artist Susanna Carmona, principal investigator at Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
