Designer Puts Breastfeeding in the Spotlight at New York Fashion Week

A mother’s work is never done—not when she returns to work, and not even for New York Fashion Week (NYFW), a message designer Rebecca Minkoff drove home with a beautiful presentation that included a model breastfeeding her daughter.

As part of her show this past weekend, Minkoff partnered with Medela to create an inspired nursing lounge—complete with Sonata and Freestyle breast pumps and fuschia pumping accessories—to shine a spotlight on the realities breastfeeding moms face when they head back to work.

“This space celebrates today’s working women and all the modern moms making it happen at home and in the office,” the Medela team said in a statement. Medela recently launched a new program called New Moms Healthy Returns to support moms and employers at work.

Bringing it all to life was model Mara Martin, seated with her daughter on her lap, nursing her in front of stacks of magenta shoe boxes with her breast pump at her side, gazing straight into the camera.

Martin was thrilled to be part of the innovative presentation, and took to Instagram to share how much it meant to her to represent working, nursing moms. “When Rebecca Minkoff asked me to be a part of her show as a model and mother while nursing Aria I immediately said yes,” she wrote. “She wanted me to represent the working mom for her during part of her show, because that’s what I am. …So proud to be a small part of your vision.”

“Being a mom is the hardest job in the world, and then adding on trying to work as a model among other things I’m trying to do, doesn’t make it any easier,” Martin wrote in an earlier post. “Being able to represent ALL working moms out there made this show so special for us. Shout out to all the working moms out there, we see you!”

Minkoff’s NYFW show was inspired by the modern working woman, which was reflected in everything from the innovative separates that can be worn multiple ways to new inclusive sizing—a first for her, launched in partnership with Stitch Fix—that extends from 00 to 24 and XXS to 3X.

Minkoff, a savvy businesswoman and mother of three, understands what it’s like to be a working mom—and brings that perspective to her brand. “We believe women should be talked to and celebrated for the ‘all’ of who they are and the many different parts that make up a multi-dimensional woman,” she said in an earlier interview with The Bump.

As an advocate for nursing moms, Minkoff places particular emphasis on giving mothers support in the workplace. She herself has pumped in board meetings and in rooms full of men, not just because she had to at the moment, but also to set an example. Her show was the perfect way to do that on an even bigger scale.

Even the New York Post noted the Medela pump next to Martin, reporting that “breast pumps were suddenly chic” and “sustenance never looked so stylish!”

Agreed.

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.