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Anti-Cellulite Shapewear Line to Make NYC Debut, Owner Says

By Emily Frost | April 9, 2014 8:03am
 The pop-up shop will open on Columbus Avenue Tuesday, April 15, 2014.
Babalette Anti-Cellulite Shapewear Shop Opening
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UPPER WEST SIDE — This clothing is slimming — literally.

A pop-up shop that will sell Spanx-style leggings and thigh-trimmers its designer claims fight cellulite is opening on Columbus Avenue next week.

"The minute women hear what it is, they say, 'Give it to me now,'" Upper West Sider Isabel Guisantes said of her brand, Babalette.

The apparel company founded last March by Guisantes, a native of Spain, uses fabric made with microscopic anti-cellulite capsules that release skin-shaping ingredients as they're worn, she said.

She found a factory in northern Spain that creates fabrics with the capsules that contain caffeine, retinol, ceramides, vitamin E, fatty acids and aloe vera — a technology called Novarel Slim. She set up an exclusive contract to sell the apparel in the U.S., she said.

"You can buy the $25 [anti-cellulite] cream or the $100 cream. By the time you put your clothes on, it’s gone or it’s sticky," said Guisantes, who emphasized you can't feel the capsules in her shapewear but they're working the whole time users wear them.

The shapewear has already caused a stir at stores selling the brand in the Hamptons and Palm Beach, she said.

Babalette is making its Big Apple debut in a pop-up at 228 Columbus Ave. on Tuesday. The small storefront has been given the space from sandal shop Gi Black until at least May 28, according to Guisantes and Gi Black owner Julianna Radon.

Guisantes also plans to host a series of trunk shows in April and May at neighborhood stores Teddy, Only Hearts and Variazoni, with whom she's still ironing out the details. The shops did not return requests for comment. 

Cellulite and unsightly lines and bulges under dresses are common problems for women, so when Guisantes discovered a solution, she was immediately sold.

She insisted the patented, anti-cellulite capsule fabric has been tested, and that it's about to become a fast-moving trend. 

After 100 hand washes, the capsules will have all been released, but the garments retain their shape, Guisantes explained.

"If you’re wearing the garment for six hours or eight hours, that’s the amount of time the garment is releasing anti-cellulite [products] on your skin," she said. "You’ll never get a cream that lasts that long." 

Upper West Side women are the ideal crowd for the line — which costs between $135 and $195 per garment — because they're discerning, Guisantes said. 

Young professionals and mothers are "willing to invest time and money for what’s the right fit," she said.