Bras trade sex appeal for comfort – think silk, cashmere, and Zara’s Female Gaze line – and coronavirus lockdowns give the trend an added push
- Lingerie used to be about sex and seduction – and often it was about what men want. Now women shop more for bras, and comfort comes before cleavage
- Fabrics such as silk and cashmere – think Katie Holmes’ viral 2019 campaign for the Khaite brand – are in favour for their softness, along with bralettes
Cast your mind back to the car-crash-causing Eva Herzigova “Hello Boys” Wonderbra campaign from the 1990s. From the tagline to the underwear, and even the model of choice, there could be little doubt about who those posters were aimed at.
Thirty years later and underwear marketing – and the industry itself – has transformed. Wonderbra has fallen out of favour, and after haemorrhaging sales, even Victoria’s Secret has stopped using leggy supermodels in its campaigns in favour of women of all ages, races and body types.
Where the industry was once about sex and seduction, it is now focused on comfort and the way lingerie feels rather than just how it looks.
The pandemic has accelerated trends that were already forming. Research has shown that, since lockdowns began, 60 per cent of women have switched their usual underwear set for a non-wired option, and 46 per cent have ditched their bras altogether for at least one day a week in the name of comfort.
It is less that women are looking for different styles altogether, but more that they are shopping lingerie in a new way – for their own pleasure first and foremost
As a result, over the past year, brands like Ann Summers – which traditionally made ultra-sexy push-up bras and thongs – have suffered losses, while small, independent brands selling pretty but comfort-first styles found their sales went up.
