Billie is bringing it back to the 1990s. Furthering its mission to reframe society’s perception of female body hair, the shave brand is partnering with Chia Pet, the popular clay figurine brand, to launch its very own limited-edition decorated planter with armpit hair. “Grow it and show it,” the tagline reads.
“Our mission from Day One has really been about challenging some of the pressures women face around their appearance, how they show up and around body hair,” Catherine Wolpe, Billie’s co-general manager, exclusively told WWD. “And so with this idea, we wanted to create something that felt whimsical, playful, but was also able to further our message around empowering choice.”
Billie collaborated with the whimsical planter brand, Chia Pet, for a fun-loving collaboration to promote a woman’s choice to shave or not shave.
In its heyday, Chia Pet was the plant of choice for children, with a jingle that was hard to shake: “Ch-ch-ch-chia.” From Jenna Ortega in “Wednesday” to emojis and animals, the brand still offers a wide range of trendy and timeless statues that, when watered and tended to appropriately, sprout green bushes from chia seeds in their designated area.
According to Wolpe, Billie toyed around with the placement of their bush on the terracotta planter in the shape of a woman in a sports bra and ponytail. Ultimately, they landed on the armpits. “We explored a number of different iterations, as you can imagine. We had a pretty clear vision for how we wanted our Billie girl to look with key highlights that felt both timeless and modern,” she said. “We thought the pits just felt incredibly fun, playful, light and cheeky.”
Why they didn’t go with a bush between a pair of legs was due, in part, to the brand’s earlier collaboration with Ian Charms. In June, Billie partnered with the popular accessories brand to release a line of pubic hair-positive swimwear with matching bikini charms. The charms — colorful mushrooms, hair brushes and Billie hearts — formed catchphrases such as “So Bushy,” “I (heart) Fuzz” and “Bushkini.” Wolpe said: “Because of this, [armpits] felt like a fun body part to focus on for our Chia Pet and also allowed us to feature a woman’s face, which felt really nice.”
Tapping into the ’90s nostalgia was purposeful in uniting consumers across generations, where moms and sisters could introduce their younger counterparts to the fun-loving planter, while also calling attention to the ways in which body hair stigmatization has been influenced by trends over the years. Wolpe pointed out that the perception of female body hair was more relaxed in the ’90s than the early 2000s.
“Women’s body hair, and body hair in general, beyond women, is quite trend-influenced. We’ll go through times when going more natural is more popular, or going completely bare down there is popular,” Wolpe said. “We were all victims of the early 2000s. I was just looking at something about all the trauma we suffered coming of age in the early 2000s and all the messaging out there. I think what we’re trying to encourage as a brand is that regardless of what the trend cycle dictates, you should really feel comfortable doing whatever you want with your body.”
The Billie Chia Pet will be available to purchase on MyBillie.com, priced at $25.99, until supplies last, starting Tuesday.