The German-Chinese rugby player helping women see strong can be ‘beautiful and feminine’
Sofie Fella grew up in Shanghai and spent three years of her life in Hong Kong, here she tells the Post about her Big Collection brand
German national team rugby player Sofie Fella was sick of hearing her Chinese family say, “your legs are too big” and “your shoulders are too broad”, but rather than let those comments take hold, she made it her mission to flip the script on beauty standards.
Born in Germany to a Chinese mother and a German father, Fella grew up in Shanghai and is the founder of two initiatives aimed at normalising women's size and empowering them to discuss vulnerable topics like body image.
The 大 Collection, meaning the Big Collection in English, is a brand tackling gender stereotypes, especially ones aimed at Asian women, because of their size.
Fella’s other venture, Girls Lift Girls, is a community of women across sports and fitness, combining exercise with panels and discussions on similar issues.
The 25-year-old, who lived in Hong Kong from 2020 to 2023, was back in the city this week for a series of workshops and the 大 Collection’s Asian Women in Sport panel, which featured several of the city’s athletes, including rugby sevens player Chloe Chan.
“Being Chinese, playing rugby and having bigger muscles, I was always told, ‘your legs are too big, your arms are too big’,” Fella said. “I wanted to take this trigger word that I grew up with … and flip the narrative on it, embrace being strong and redefine what it means to be beautiful and feminine.”