Introducing the Smash + Tess x Spencer Barbosa Collaboration!
Introducing the Smash + Tess x Spencer Barbosa Collaboration! Content Creator, Entrepreneur, Actress and overall ray of sunshine, Spencer Barbosa, uses her platform to encourage people to practice self-love and treat themselves with kindness. Inspired by Spencer’s bright, youthful spirit and love of the colour pink, these pieces are made to be comfy staples in your closet with a little flirty twist. It was so wonderful collaborating with Spencer, who shares our passion for empowering women and is making such a positive impact on her community!
We interviewed Spencer to share more about her collection, her love of the colour pink, and her inspiration behind building the community that she has built online.
What inspired you to collaborate with Smash + Tess on this collection?
I was inspired to collaborate with Smash and Tess on this project because not only are they a brand I wear, know and love but… Smash and Tess was founded by a mother daughter team. I love that. The clothes are comfortable, sustainable and also inclusive. I love surrounding myself with other strong, empowered and hard working women so working with Smash and Tess has been a dream. Rompers have always been my favorite thing to wear (I even wore a romper to my grade 8 grad).
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is very girly and fun! I love bright colors (lots of pink) and being very “extra”. You can never be too extra, overdressed or wear too much pink. I also really value comfort. I am either wearing lounge wear or a pink sparkle dress. There is rarely anything in between.
What was the design process like? What did you enjoy most about designing new styles?
I loved trying to put myself in the shoes of my followers and imagine what they would wear / love the most. How can I create a cute collection that is also extremely functional, comfortable and cute. It all started with a direct message on instagram and then we hopped on a call and I loved the team. I put together a cute Pinterest board of color pallets I loved, styles I loved or inspo. I have been obsessed with ruffles lately because I think they add such a fun elegant timeless element so I knew I had to bring that into my collection. I enjoyed creating this entire collection with my community in mind and thinking about what I know they will like and need. I even posted polls asking for advice/ideas.
Smash + Tess’ mission is to empower women to live big lives with ease and confidence. What does this mean to you?
This mission means to be completely free to follow your dreams. Follow your heart and what you want with confidence and comfort. When I hear “with ease” I think of the ease and comfort of wearing a romper. I actually love this mission statement so much. I want to live a BIG life and I deserve to wear clothes that allow me to do that and support a brand that empowers women to follow their dreams with confidence and no self doubt. A lot of clothing for women is very uncomfortable, we are literally told almost every day that “beauty is pain”, but its not. We should feel comfortable and confident in the clothing we put on our bodies every day. Picture the Spencer Barbosa X Smash + Tess collab as your super hero cape to tackle the world.
What is your favourite piece in the collection and why?
My fave piece in the collection is the shorty romper in pink. I am such a pink girl to my core and I think this is the most flattering, high quality and adorable romper ever. Just the fact that I can grab this romper and put it on and its an entire outfit is so easy (its almost a no brainer). I love this romper with converse or sandals. As a beach cover up, date night outfit or grocery shopping. You can really wear this piece anywhere, style in any way you'd like or wear it by its self as a full ADORABLE outfit. I love convenience and this outfit is so convenient. Plus the way it hugs my curves is so flattering and such a confidence boost.
What are you most excited about?
I am the most excited to see my followers in the collection and see how they style everything and how much they LOVE everything. The whole process has been so much fun from designing the pieces, coming up with our marketing plan and doing the photoshoot that the cherry on the top is just seeing the feedback of my followers and how much they love everything.
You use your platform to empower women in your community to feel beautiful in their own skin, what inspired you to build your platform and what motivates you to continue to grow your community?
I was inspired to build this platform because I wanted to be the best friend/role model I didn't have when I was in high school. I wish I had someone making me feel beautiful in my natural normal body while I was in High school…so instead of wishing for it I decided to be it. I don't want any person to ever feel insecure about their body/personality the way I did in high school. If you don't see the change you have to be the change… thats kinda my little slogan. I love my platform and I am genuinely so connected to my followers. We are best friends and I need them. I love them with my whole heart. I want to continue to grow my platform and reach as many people as I am able to. I want to build this group of people who is choosing to love themselves even on the hard days, even when it feels impossible and even when you don't feel deserving of love. I just love helping others and this is my little way to do it. My heart feels full.