Anine Bing Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary With Irina Shayk Collaboration

If anyone represents Anine Bing's effortlessly-cool, powerfully-fem aesthetic as well as the designer herself, it's Irina Shayk. The womenswear brand partnered with the supermodel to relaunch its classics and debut its first ever resortwear collection, in celebration of its 10-year anniversary and of Women's History Month.

"She’s strong, confident, and such a timeless beauty," designer Anine Bing told BAZAAR.com of Shayk. "Irina has amazing style and really embodies the brand’s classic and effortless aesthetic."

The Danish designer (who was formerly a model and blogger) created her first collection from her garage in Silver Lake, California, in 2012. It included two pairs of jeans, a leather jacket, boots and some T-shirts. "It was a small dream at the time that grew bigger than I could ever have imagined," Bing said. "I had a clear vision from the beginning and have always stuck to it."

She has since released seasonal collections every year, launched a viral collaboration with photographer Terry O'Neill, and made a name for herself as one of the most elevated activewear designers out there. Her Classics relaunch, of which Shayk is the face, includes a pair of high-waisted jeans, a khaki blazer, chunky black slides, and a white button-up shirt. Meanwhile, her Resort 2022 collection, includes various swimsuits, an airy black blazer, and a sarong.

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Because both Bing and Shayk are moms with sophisticated but relaxed styles and very busy schedules, it's important to them to maintain closets with simple, versatile pieces that can be styled down or spiced up from office to gala.

"I love simple and chic. The Classics collection is full of great essential pieces that round out any wardrobe the collection is effortless yet cool," Shayk said. "I think the perfect Anine Bing muse is a confident women who feels great in her own skin."

Shayk is the ideal Anine Bing woman—not just because of her minimalist personal style, but because of her feminist values. In 2019, the model and girl mom told Glamour about the judgement women often get for showing off their bodies after they've become mothers. "One of my friends said, 'Oh, you just posted a sexy picture. You’re a mum now!' And I just said, 'So what!'" she told the outlet at the time. She also told Marie Claire that same year that being a parent has given her even more strength to stand up for what she believes in. "You have to be really truly yourself for your kids, otherwise you're living in a lie," she said.

Her recent partnership with Anine Bing, which was announced today, during Women's History Month, is, in many ways, hers and Bing's tribute to independent women.

"Anine Bing is a female-founded brand and has women’s empowerment at the forefront which really speaks to me," Shayk told BAZAAR exclusively. "I have loved the brand for some time, and always admired Anine’s work. She’s passionate, her designs are timeless, and she understands what women want from fashion today."

Female empowerment has always been central to Bing's brand. Not only is her team 80% female, but the clothes themselves are flattering in an off-duty-CEO kind of way—think curve-hugging slip dresses, comfortable but sleek sneakers and boot heels, and pants that elongate the body without being way too tight.

"We’re a company of women for women, on a mission to build a modern-day fashion house for a new age. Our goal is to create wardrobe essentials that inspire women to feel confident and empowered," she said.

The designer said she owes so much to the women in her life, particularly her grandmother Elly, who introduced her to fashion. "She had the greatest style and I looked up to her so much. Being with her and dressing up in her closet really sparked my interest from a young age," Bing said.

Shayk also said she feels lucky to be surrounded by strong women: "My grandmothers, my sister, my mom—who has been a constant inspiration my entire life. She was a single mom raising two children in difficult circumstances, and for me is the epitome of strength."

Bing told BAZAAR that her "greatest source of inspiration is strong, confident women paving the way for generations to come," which is why this month, the team is continuing their longterm partnership with Dress for Success to support their Your Hour, Her Power campaign. They will be donating an hour of each employee’s pay to the cause as well as hosting a donation landing page on Anine Bing's website to encourage their audience to donate an hour of their pay to Dress for Success.

She opened up about the cause on her Instagram on International Women's Day, and shared a quote that read: "When women support each other, incredible things happen."

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Bing runs a global business, has a thriving family life (she's a mom of two and runs the brand with the help of her husband, Nicolai Nielsen), and has enviable style. She's also genuinely nice, and is happy to celebrate other women's successes. So, it's no surprise she has formed a team of equally strong women to help her advance her brand.

"It feels amazing and so surreal. It’s been the hardest but most rewarding journey of my life," she said of building her team and her brand. "It’s important to continue to surround yourself with people that understand your vision and help you see it through."

Bing's business partners feel the same way. Annike Meller, the brand's co-founder and chief strategy officer, said it is extremely "powerful" to be part of a female-dominant, culturally-diverse team, as everyone feels like they have the expertise and the confidence to "challenge each other and also understand our customer."

Olivia Gentin, Anine Bing's chief operating officer, agreed that it is "an amazing experience" working with such a tight-knit, professional group of women. She added that the work environment is very much collaborative, and because they are their own customers (just imagine an office filled with gorgeous ladies in head-to-toe Anine Bing), they understand what the Anine Bing woman needs.

"We all wear the product day in and day out, yet we all have different needs," Gentin said. "Some of us are busy moms, others are younger women where this may be their very first job out of college. Our lifestyles are all very different, yet we are all aligned in wanting to bring to market beautiful modern pieces in our wardrobe that don’t expire in months because that’s what we want in our closets."

Though they admit 10 years is quite the milestone for any brand, Bing said they're just getting started. This year, the team is opening 10 more retail stores around the world, collaborating with new (secret, for now) talent on a new product category, and debuting Anine Bing in China—a massive fashion market.

"You always have to be ready to roll your sleeves up and put in the work—which is something that I have done since day one," Bing said. "I am feeling so incredibly grateful for where we are today and for the continued success of the brand."

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR US.

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