Former Victoria’s Secret model Kylie Bisutti, the part owner of God Inspired Fashion, is determined for the brand to succeed as the first-ever full-service Christian clothing label. Bisutti, 23, won a nationwide modeling competition for Victoria’s Secret to walk in their 2009 fashion show, but has since renounced the modeling industry to live a Christian lifestyle as “a Proverbs 31 wife and mother.”
The label, which Bisutti launched last month with help from her family in Idaho, offers proverbs-emblazoned clothing for men, women and children, and is currently only available in the U.S. through its website GodInspiredFashion.com–although Bisutti says she’s gotten requests from fans in Europe, Mexico and Canada. “I definitely see it being a huge brand in the future,” she told The Daily Beast.
The former model–now four months pregnant and living in Montana with her husband–published the autobiography I’m No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model earlier this year, in which she explains why she turned her back on the modeling industry and converted to Christianity: she didn’t want to use her image to titillate men and sought to be a good role model for young girls. Now, she hopes her clothing line will help Christians to “open the door” and start a dialogue about their faith.
God Inspired Fashion, a world away from Bisutti’s push-up bra beginnings, offers casual separates with screen-printed proverbs such as “The Lord is my Strength” and “Fear God.” Women’s options include racer-back tanks, sequined vests, peasant skirts, skinny jeans and more. A red baby tee proclaims “Strength” across the front and “The Lord is my strength and my shield,” from Psalm 28:7, on the back. Men’s and boys’ designs include collared shirts with Ed Hardy-style rhinestone embellishments and boot-cut jeans.
“What we really want to focus on is getting God’s word into the world,” Bisutti told The Daily Beast. “But we really want it to be fashionable and up to date. It’s why we have a lot of neon stuff right now–that’s what’s really in right now.” The hot-pink “Saved” skinny jeans bear witness to this. Her line is the first of its kind, says Bisutti: “There are actually a few other Christian clothing companies out there, but they namely focus on T-shirts and hats,” she says. “This is really the first one that has jeans, and blazers, and handbags. It’s the first one to cover everything.”
God Inspired Fashion has a particular focus on children’s clothing, with its website proclaiming, “Help put God’s word back in schools. Start a revival!” Says Bisutti: “One of our goals is to spread the message in schools, where bullying is such a huge thing. It’s important for children to be able to go and spread the message and for hearts to be changed because of what kids read on their clothes.”
Predictably, non-believers are not enthused about the Christian-inspired clothing line. “The only group right now that we haven’t gotten good feedback from are atheists,” Bisutti told The Daily Beast. “They are really against the children’s line, and having Bible verses on children’s clothing.”
Victoria’s Secret has tried to publicly disassociate its brand with Bisutti, and she has feuded with the company over some statements she had made in the lead-up to the publication of I’m No Angel, though she did not end up in court. According to a statement from Victoria’s Secret to People in April: “Ms. Bisutti has made numerous fabrications and misstatements of fact regarding her brief association with Victoria’s Secret. In 2009, Ms. Bisutti won an online amateur modeling competition and hasn’t worked for us since that year… She was never a Victoria’s Secret ‘Angel’ as defined by the terms of our Angel model contract.”
Says Bisutti: “It kind of went down the legal road, and then, thankfully, we were able to end it before anything progressed. After they read the book they realized there were no grounds for the statements they came out with.”
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