Jules Robinson might be best known for her time on “Married at First Sight Australia”; the reality show where experts pair up couples based on a series of complimenting traits as they tie the knot at the same time as meeting for the first time. But since her stint on Australian TV that took the UK by storm during the pandemic, she has cemented herself as a fashion expert. The reality star has already featured multiple times on ITV’s “This Morning” offering out style tips, whilst her Australian shapewear brand FIGUR is launching in the UK on 16 August.
Fans of the series will recall Robinson and her partner, Cam Merchant, connecting instantly when they first met on the show back in 2018. The pair went on to share an official engagement, wedding, and a baby together, welcoming their son Oliver in 2020. But after being “uncomfortable for three months” during filming of the reality show – where the star was constantly “rolling down” and “rolling up” ill-fitting shapewear between dinners on set – FIGUR was born.
“It was particularly the dinner parties [during the show] where I’d have a beautiful dress on, and I’d have to take everything off [when going to the toilet] and put it on the floor,” she tells POPSUGAR. “I’d be sitting there with my microphone in my hand going, ‘okay, this is really not working out for me’,” she laughs.
Image Source: FIGUR
Following her stint on the series, the hair-stylist-turned-entrepreneur received a ton of messages from fans who wanted to know her style secrets. “I just had such a beautiful rapport with the public and and women saying, ‘I’ve got a body like yours and I wish I dressed like you, and I don’t have your confidence’,” Robinson says. To this, Robinson insists that “inclusive fashion” should be about allowing “all women to feel represented”. (FYI, she hates the term “plus-sized”, saying “I just think it’s a bit insulting.”)
“Shapewear is an amazing tool, but underneath that material, it’s all you.”
Her ethos is simple: loving and knowing your body is key to exuding confidence in an outfit that you love. “It’s really important to feel happy with yourself naked, but true body confidence comes down to knowing yourself, and knowing how to dress your body,” she says. “Shapewear is an amazing tool, but underneath that material, it’s all you.”
Of course, being in the public eye means that she’s also been subjected to the cruel side of social media, where complete strangers try to point out flaws in her style, appearance, and even parenting choices. “There was a lot of trolling and body shaming that went with those really beautiful comments,” says Robinson. “Words do hurt, and when you are thrown into that world and everyone knows your name and has an opinion of you, it’s not always nice – especially when it’s about how you look physically.”
Robinson and her husband have done a lot of therapy to help them deal with the backlash, and rise above it. “It’s eventually something that you end up building a barrier around, really,” she begins. “My husband and I do kinesiology, and when you’re going through things like that, I remember learning how to visualise having a bubble around me of protection because it can hurt.”
Robinson does acknowledge that her journey to “finding [Cam]” wasn’t the most traditional route – and that’s something the couple wants to share with their son in the future. “We were really lucky, when we had Ollie, Channel 9 [the network behind MAFS Australia] gave us the whole series – so 40 episodes – on a hard drive, which is really amazing” she admits. “We’ve said that maybe when he’s about 12 or 13 years old, when he’s old enough to understand it, it’d be really lovely to show him how we met.”
But for now, Robinson is focusing on making sure that she, and the people around her, look and feel good – one outfit at a time. “Not everyone can love everything about their body, and we’re not meant to,” she says. “Just work with those little things that you love, that’s a great starting point.”
FIGUR launches on 16 August in the UK. Prices start from £86 in sizes 6-24.
