Erin Carpenter is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Nude Barre, born from her firsthand frustrations and experiences with colorism. Growing up as a Black woman and dancer, Ms. Carpenter experienced years of hardships finding hosiery that matched her skin tone, often spending hours dying her tights and “pancaking” her shoes to meet the industry’s requirement of “nude” undergarments.

From her days as a Knicks City Dancer to barre teacher, Erin bootstrapped the business utilizing her personal network to spread the word while teaching barre classes throughout the week to get Nude Barre off the ground.

Erin committed to creating a permanent solution for not just herself, but for the countless women burdened by this systemic issue. With the launch of Nude Barre in 2009, Erin embarked on a larger mission to redefine “nude” in the industry, so that the next generation would never have to know nude as one color.

Today, the brand is growing faster than ever before, bringing authentic and diverse representation across an increasing number of product categories: bralettes, underwear, and hosiery - all to face colorism head on and help alleviate the emotional and physical labor of this process for all humans, dancers and non-dancers alike.