Julia Haart On Her Stylish New Shapewear Collection ‘+Body’

We might know Julia Haart as the straight-talking, stylish star of the binge-worthy Netflix series, My Unorthodox Life. But before she was in reality TV—and breaking free from Orthodox Judaism—she has been a key figure in the fashion industry.

Haart launched her luxury footwear brand in 2013, became creative director of upscale lingerie brand La Perla in 2016. She was the CEO, chief creative officer and co-owner of Elite World Group, before her divorce to Silvio Scaglia began in 2022, who was also her former business partner.

Last year, she released her autobiography, “Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey From Long Sleeves to Lingerie,” and this summer, she became a brand ambassador of the skin-care brand, AMEŌN.

Now, she is relaunching her shapewear line, +Body by Julia Haart. In her swanky Tribeca penthouse, she explains how it was inspired by a scene in “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” where Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) undresses for Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) only to reveal her ugly shapewear.

“I thought ‘this is crazy, I need to make shapewear that women aren’t embarrassed about wearing,” said Haart. “I want to alleviate the stigma of wearing shapewear.”

The line (pronounced “Plus Body”) is centered around a woman’s confidence. “It’s your body, your weight, just perfected so you feel and look good without anything else,” said Haart.

The colors and patterns in this shapewear aren’t meant to be hidden, but incorporated into your outfits. Whether it’s a peek at the plunging neckline under your blazer or showcasing the dress as a standalone style piece, the brand aims to fuse together style with flawless curves.

“It looks so pretty it looks like lingerie or clothing,” she said. “You wouldn’t know its shapewear.”

The paisley-patterned items include the Smooth Operator dress (great for gala girls), the PowerSuit bodysuit (which Haart can’t live without), and the Mid-Thigh PowerSuit (which has built-in shorts). There are four colors to the collection; teal blue, red, black, and beige, and the pieces are made from 73% nylon, 27% elastane.

The standout is the inclusive sizing chart, as the brand comes in dress sizes from XS to 3XL, and cup sizes from A-cup to F-cup. “I’m trying to eradicate this thought that comfort and luxury don’t match,” said Haart. “Suffering for beauty is not something I believe in.”

Haart has always been a designer. She first taught herself to sew as a teenager, crafting her first dress when she was 16 years old. It wasn’t until she started her shoe company, Julia Haart Inc. in 2013 that things really took off. Her designs caught the attention of La Perla, and she became creative director of the luxury lingerie brand in 2016. More recently, Haart was working on e1972, a “sizeless” made-to-measure luxury clothing line she launched in February of 2020 at New York Fashion Week.

“I remember being told I couldn’t make comfortable heels, and I did,” she said. “I made comfortable lingerie at La Perla and I was told ‘comfortable is a dirty word in fashion.’”

That didn’t stop her. “I have never been focused on what is, I focus on what could be,” said Haart. “If you want to succeed, you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable with the unknown.”

Haart has been busy this summer with humanitarian work. Last month, she was in Ukraine with the Halo Trust, and helped open a women’s shelter with Pilot Light. She recently returned from Rwanda, where she was visiting with The Body Agency, providing feminine care to women. “I was told, ‘Julia, tell our story, the world keeps forgetting about us,’” she said. “The world needs to know.”

Feminism is core to everything she does. Since the appeal of Roe vs. Wade, Haart has been meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Gloria Steinem, and helped lead the Iranian women’s march in Washington. “Even though I’m a Jew from Monsey, in the end, it’s all the same,” she said. “Fundamentalism is fundamentalism, no matter what the religion is.”

Her long, complicated divorce to Scaglia continues. “I’m not post-divorce yet, I’m eager for it to be, I hope I’m closer to the end of this thing,” she said. “I’m forward focused.”

Model: Julia Haart @juliahaart

Shapewear: +Body by Julia Haart: @bodybyjuliahaart

Photographer: Nadja Sayej @nadjasayej

Lighting: Luis Enrique Rivera Cuyar @luisrivlux