Candice Manuel aka Candashian
Tuesday 12 July
The last time we saw Candice Manuel on Afternoon Express, she was in the first trimester of her pregnancy. Soon she will be celebrating her daughter Milan’s first birthday! “It’s been such an amazing journey. Very life changing though.”
Candice is a woman with many titles; plus size model, body positive influencer, entrepreneur, mother, wife, and philanthropist.
“With me being a hustler, an entrepreneur, I think some of my businesses have had to take a backslide just for me to focus on being a mom,” she says. “It’s just about balance, and trying to figure out both at the same time.”
Her clothing line, the Candash Collection, was conceptualised during her pregnancy. “I didn’t want pregnancy to change my style. The things I saw in stores were always a frumpy type of maternity clothing. I didn’t want to invest in maternity clothing and then not wear it after,” says Candice.
She is the curator of the items and collaborates with different designers to create the clothes. “I decided to making a clothing line that would be comfortable while you are pregnant but also thereafter.”
Candash Collection has recently expanded into accessories. Candice has partnered with Ruby’s Faith Accessories for a to release beautiful line-art pieces.
The model started the brand ‘Embrace Your Curves’ in 2016, which quickly garnered a following. “I always said that there should be a purpose behind this group of people following me. If I could give back that would be the perfect tool to do so.”
Pre-Covid Candice hosted a non-profit event every three months, where items such as sanitary towels and clothes could be donated. When Covid hit she continued the drive, making her home the location where people could drop off items. Now that life is going back to normal, she’s excited to get back into the swing of things.
Candice is starting a new initiative for her daughters first birthday, which she hopes will become a tradition. Candice’s mother has knitted items of baby clothing to add to care packages for mothers in government hospitals. They plan to distribute the packages on Milan’s birthday.
“With me being such a rooter for women empowerment, I felt that you always need to start at home first. I’m hoping this will also empower her to empower women after,” she says.
Keep up with Candice on social media:
@candashian_cpt / Candice Manuel
@candash_collection / @embraceyourcurves_cpt / @rubysfaith
