What a Triumph! Lingerie brand celebrates 125 years of the bra with vintage …
November 15, 2011 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
By
Deborah Arthurs
Last updated at 3:18 PM on 15th November 2011
More than century ago in 1886, merchant Michael Braun and corset-maker Johann Gottfried Spiesshofer went down in history after becoming the first firm in the world to make a bra commercially available to women.
Never could they have known back then that the tiny corset factory they had set up in southern Germany would one day become the world’s leading lingerie firm.
125 years on, the business that started out with just six sewing machines and six employees has gone global, with 37,500 employees working in over 120 countries – and it is still in the hands of the families of its founders.
Celebration: Triumph – the firm behind the first bra commercially available to women – has launched the Vintage Collection to bring revamped Triumph designs into the present day
Of course, the 1886 effort from the
two was a primitive affair – a rigid wire cages that held the breasts in
places, prosaically named the Bust Improver. The only concession to
vanity was the addition of two bows tied onto each cup.
Fast
forward 125 years, and much has changed. This month, Triumph
International is to commemorate their long history tailoring the female
form with a limited edition collection of vintage-inspired corsets, bras
and knickers that celebrate the nipped-in waists and high-waisted
styling of the past.
But while the styling is all vintage, the comfort is as contemporary as it comes.
The collection offers pieces that marry
both the best-loved heritage styles for which Triumph is famed, coupled
with the cutting edge fabrics and fit technology that makes today’s
lingerie infinitely more comfortable than the whalebone garments of old.
History: The collection features lingerie in Vintage Lace, Vintage Touch and black and white Fifties-inspired Vintage Corsage
Very modern vintage: Triumph’s Vintage Collection celebrates retro styling married with modern technology. Left, lace body dress, £109; right, pink corset, £101
Vintage with a twist: The lingerie echoes shapes of the past but is much more comfortable to wear. Left, high-waisted briefs and bra, both £63
Wasp-waisters and corsets feature heavily in the line, all inspired by the long heritage of Triumph International. Left, waist-slimmer, £74; floral corset, £93
A TRIUMPH THROUGH THE AGES
1886: The very first bra invented by Triumph was called the Bust Improver
1965: A very retro Triumph International shoot in Hyde Park
1980: Model Amanda Adey wears a cut-out swimsuit by Triumph International for an eighties photocall
1983: Model Jane Sumner pictured in a 1983 Triumph International swimwear advert
1987: Triumph’s Bijou lingerie set is modelled by a curvy brunette, proving that by today’s standards
2006: A Triumph fashion show held in Dusseldorf, Germany
2007: Louise Redknapp is unveiled as the new face of Triumph
2011: A model wears Triumph on the catwalk at Somerset House as part of London Fashion Week
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