In Honor of International Women’s Day, This Designer Made a Bold Casting Decision

Claire Stern

Updated Thu, March 8, 2018 at 2:45 PM UTC

Despite being a model herself, when it came time for Nicole Trunfio to cast a new campaign for her jewelry line, Erth, she chose "real people" to showcase her pieces. Specifically, women who've inspired her through their success in the fashion industry. "There are so many women I admire who are making bold moves in their respective fields," she recently told InStyle by phone. "I find them so astonishingly beautiful by their character."

The "Twelve Women" series, debuting today, fittingly on International Women's Day, features 12 creative thinkers and thought leaders including stylist Monica Rose, writer Sophie Ward Koren, and DJ Nikki Pennie, among others (plus her son, Zion, with husband Gary Clark Jr. for the adorable factor). Though the ads were shot a while ago, the portrait of female camaraderie is delightfully apropos in the wake of #MeToo and Time's Up. "As women, we need to have each other's backs and support each other," Trunfio said.

In fact, it's the trailblazing women in the campaign that inspired Trunfio to start Erth Jewelry in the first place. "My deepest insecurities came when I decided to launch a business," she said. "When you're a model, it's hard to be taken seriously. I still struggle with it. We have to continue to break through barriers, because people are defined by their experiences, which leads to how they're perceived."

She continued: "You have to make mistakes in order to grow and learn, and listen to yourself and trust your own instincts. If people think you're doing things wrong or you won't be successful in something, but you have a burning flame inside you, you have to follow it through with it, because nobody knows better than you. As long as you believe in it, anything could happen."

VIDEO: Everything You Need to Know About International Women's Day on March 8

Below, see how Trunfio styled four women in her favorite pieces from Erth, all available now on erthjewelry.com. Five percent of all proceeds during the month of March will go toward Women Who Dare, a non-profit that aims to help female entrepreneurs grow their businesses.