Toby Morgan, founder and inventor of Atlanta-based bodysuit company LUSCA, told UATL she started her adaptive women’s fashion brand to eliminate inconveniences women usually encounter when putting on or taking off their clothes.
“The placement of these stupid and annoying zippers and buttons are male-focused, and it’s not trying to solve a problem for us when we try to use the restroom. I wanted to create the first female zipper that was made for us,” Morgan said.
The apparel company, launched online in 2021, has shapewear that doesn’t use buttons, snaps or hooks as fasteners. Instead, the bodyshirts come with a magnetic horizontal clasp. The mostly solid-colored shirts come in long or short sleeves and are made of synthetic cotton blends.
In creating the line of clothing, Morgan said she prioritized comfort, convenience and innovation.
“The clothing had to be something that every woman could wear as a staple piece to work, hang out with friends or (go) to the grocery store with their kids, and it needed to be an item that could be washed, worn hundreds of times and make people feel like they got their money’s worth.”
Credit: The IT Agency
Credit: The IT Agency
Morgan, who grew up in Jamaica, moved in 2010 to Atlanta from Williamsburg, Virginia, after graduating from William & Mary Law School. She started her own practice, concentrating on appellate law, and set out to discover what she wanted to do in her next phase of life.
In the winter of 2016, she was looking for a cashmere bodysuit to wear out with friends, keep her warm and accent her curvaceous body. She searched Google and couldn’t find one, so she decided to make her own.
Morgan noticed magnets helped accessories such as handbags stay closed but wondered why bodysuits couldn’t be fashion-forward and have a similar feature. In 2017, she took settlement money she won from a case and invested it in forming LUSCA.
She tried several manufacturers before connecting with a women-run factory in Mexico recommended by her patent attorney to assist her with creating the groundbreaking clasp. At first, they tried creating the full bodysuit as one piece but decided to take the process one step at a time.
“We were testing the product, sourcing fabrics, trying to find the right magnets and settle on designs. We did 15 to 20 different clasps with different fabrics, because we needed to focus on small details like measuring the proper length of the magnets,” Morgan said. “Once we found our perfect clasp, then we started to build out what the line would look like.”
Credit: The IT Agency
Credit: The IT Agency
Morgan spent the next four years conducting quality assurance, perfecting designs and building partnerships with other women-led organizations to help with brand development. She said she’s intentional about collaborating with other women-led businesses to produce LUSCA, because they’re the target audience.
The Chaka, LUSCA’s sleeveless turtleneck bodysuit, is named after one of Morgan’s law school classmates who also lived in Atlanta when she moved to the city. Morgan decided she would title each piece in LUSCA’s collection after women she idolized.
“She and I became close friends in Atlanta after the Great Recession (in 2008). We were both looking for jobs, living with our parents, no money, having $4 beers together, thinking about our future and where we would be. She was sleek, elegant and always super supportive of me and my ideas,” Morgan said.
“The product is driven by a desire to improve women’s lives. There’s a lot of moving parts, so it helps to have experts or people who have been in the industry before to hold your hand as you’re figuring out those laws and all that goes into making a piece of clothing,” she said.
In 2019, Morgan thought LUSCA, which was still under development, would have stiff competition from SKIMS, the shapewear line co-founded by Kim Kardashian, going to market. She said the products’ release intimidated her until she realized SKIMS retained the standard fastener.
“I was really nervous when SKIMS came out, because I thought maybe she would’ve solved that problem by starting a multimillion-dollar company that changed the clasp on bodysuits, but she did not. I still felt like I could invent something,” Morgan said.
Alexus “Kleo” Lessears, a model featured in LUSCA’s track-and-field-themed social campaign, said LUSCA’s collection functions as ideal athleisure wear.
“As a tall woman, our torso is longer, so it can get uncomfortable when it gets caught in that area (between our legs). It was easy to put on, take off and none of the sweat showed up in the fabric while I was running,” Lessears said.
Credit: The IT Agency
Credit: The IT Agency
LUSCA still operates as an e-commerce business. Morgan continues to practice law while she continues to grow LUSCA into a household women’s shapewear brand. The venture is her labor of love.
“It’s an outlet where I get to use my artsy side a little bit more, but it turned into something a whole lot bigger than me. We do have repeat customers and customers that find us, but my hope is to get more eyes and traffic on us,” Morgan said. “I would love for it to be a unicorn like SPANX or SKIMS.”
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