Finnegan Shepard created a nonbinary clothing line to make fashion more inclusive.
"I kind of had a life of experience of constantly trying to find things that I felt comfortable in," Shepard told KRQE. "I felt like I could never find anything. Eventually, I just got tired of waiting and figured I had to do it myself."
Shepard launched Both& Apparel, a company that makes clothing specifically for people who identify as nonbinary, transmasculine, or gender non-conforming.
"Fashion, as a whole, has built its entire fit and sizing system based on average statistical proportions of bodies," Shepard said.
Through research, Shepard discovered that nonbinary and trans people face difficulty when shopping in traditional clothing stores, KRQE reported. Shepard's team created T-shirts, button-down shirts, swimwear, pants, and hoodies that should fit anyone comfortably. These items are available online, but Shepard hopes to open brick-and-mortar outlets soon thanks to seed money and investors. The company is thought to be the first of its kind in New Mexico.
"We have a lot of customers who were assigned female at birth, but they don't want to be wearing feminine clothes," Shepard said. "This population is way bigger than what you thought, and it's growing exponentially."