Right away, we want to answer: no! Indeed, the lingerie market is undoubtedly part of the ready-to-wear market. And the big fast fashion brands opened this section at the same time as the specialized brands multiplied the collections
Lingerie, from democratized functional purchase to fashion accessory
Since the beginning of the 20th century and the abandonment of the corset during the First World War, in order to free women's bodies and allow them to work in place of men, lingerie has had the essential goal of being functional and practical. At the same time, sexy and provocative lingerie has developed, but it is rarely worn on a daily basis. Girdles and corsets are the preserve of Hollywood stars before becoming more democratic. The bra with its two cups and its classification by letter appeared in the 1930s. And the creation of technical materials, such as nylon and lycra, contributed to this democratization with the beginning of mass production, industrialization and standardization, when previously you would go to your hosiery to have your own custom-made model made. We are not yet at fast fashion , but we can consider the turn of the 1950s as the beginnings. Dim also appeared in the 60s.
If the 70s were the era of "no bra", the 90s on the other hand saw the appearance of the Wonderbra, the plunge bras, balconette bras and push-up bras. We wore our underwear on top and lingerie entered the world of fashion, sold in supermarkets (Dim, Variance, Playtex...) as well as in luxury brands (Dior, Eres...). Underwear then became real fashion accessories that followed trends, just like clothes.
The Victoria's Secret Revolution
The first boutique, intended as an English boudoir – Victoria is an ironic reference to the Queen of the United Kingdom, whose reign is known as the "Puritan era", hence the "secret" attached like an oxymoron – was born in 1977 in Palo Alto, California. But it was after its resale that the brand multiplied and exploded. Although of average quality and manufactured in Asia, the brand adopted the codes of luxury by creating its first megashow in New York in 1995, designed as a real fashion show. Extravagant and sexy, this spectacle lined up the slender supermodels of the time: Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Karen Mulder, Eva Evangelista… For two decades, these shows became an institution. All the stars of the catwalks paraded there, from Gisele Bündchen to Gigi Hadid, and starved themselves beforehand for weeks with a drastic discipline imposed, as we would discover later. These fashion shows will make the brand famous with its multiple collections, its abundant offering frequently renewed by its patterns and colors, from cotton lingerie to the sexiest lace and swimsuits. In 2013, Victoria's Secret, present in every American shopping center, represented nearly a third of the lingerie market, before declining, accumulating scandals, finished off by the pandemic which halved its sales. And even if the brand only appeared recently and confidentially in France - after the beginning of its decline - its notoriety and its model have largely influenced the world of lingerie.
Entry into Fast Fashion
Lingerie is not spared from what was the success of the fast-fashion model: a permanent renewal of collections with products offered and manufactured at low cost, whose life expectancy is shortened as much as possible to encourage permanent consumption.
Etam also puts on a show
Even as Victoria's Secret, caught up in bad publicity linked to the era of MeToo and Body Positive, lost its luster and stopped its megashows in 2014, in France, Etam took over and paraded for the first time in 2016, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, with Natalia Vodianova and Constance Jablonski as figureheads, to acquire a more fashionable and desirable image.
The group is multiplying its stores (1,400 points of sale including 860 boutiques worldwide for Etam, and the first locations in the United States in March 2022) and brands. Thus, in 2007, it created Undiz, a lingerie brand aimed at younger people with inexpensive and low-quality products. Conversely, this same group co-created Livy, a high-end brand focused on "sexy", with the Vog group (Bash) and took a majority stake in Ysé, a mid-range and high-end lingerie brand. From the highest to the lowest end, the Etam group dominates the French lingerie market, where it remains the leader with 10.2% of sales in 2021 - ahead of Leclerc (9.6%) and Carrefour (6.7% market share) - by offering new models every week.
Specialty retailers follow suit
In the 90s, new specialist franchise stores appeared in France, based on the Etam model. Princesse Tam Tam is a perfect example. Created by two sisters, the brand was then bought by the Japanese group that owned Uniqlo and then entered a more commercial logic, closer to fast fashion. Here too, lingerie, swimwear and indoor clothing can be found at reasonable prices, but not necessarily cheap. However, expertise in corsetry is limited and large sizes are not covered.
Fast Fashion brands open lingerie section
Attracted by this market that young people are fond of, fast fashion brands are rushing in and using the same codes as for other departments: collections that are quickly renewed. While traditional brands, with real know-how, need more than a year to put a bra model on the market. Fast fashion giants like Topshop, H&M and Forever 21 have all launched their own lingerie lines. The most recent arrival is Zara. The Inditex group already had its specialist brand Oysho, but opened a lingerie department at the end of 2020. All these brands are much better known to new consumers who do not always dare to walk through the door of a lingerie store or go to department stores.
While traditional corsetry brands are fighting to survive (Maison Lejaby in the 2010s, Indiscrète more recently), fast fashion, represented by major textile brands of all categories and by a concentration of specialized brands, risks tipping the lingerie market. And yet, when you need real good support, and while French women have an average bust size of 93.7cm with a C cup, these brands rarely provide the necessary support, not to mention advice!
Unless digitalization, and its share of small “digital native” and “ body positive ” brands offering all sorts of silhouettes, change the situation again in the years to come…
