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Plus-size fashionable lingerie gains momentum
Issue date:01/04/2008
ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Apr 2008 Issue
Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel
by Staff Reporters
The lingerie industry is currently in an environment of intense competition. More and more fashionable and price-friendly lingerie is being supplied by clothing retailers, while international lingerie specialty brands are turning to new markets and improved production efficiency for future growth.

The current global lingerie market rose by 2.6% to about US$29.92 billion from 2004 and 2007, while the clothing (including lingerie) prices were down 4% from those of 1995.

Julie King, Head of Department of Fashion and Textiles of De Monforts University in the UK observes that women in the UK are looking for value products, including lingerie that look fashionable and chic.

Moreover, "women are buying more lingerie items, but at lower prices," notes Ms King. Fast-fashion clothing retailers are increasingly offering sexy and price-friendly bras and panties, which have become more disposable.
About 65% of the global lingerie in value was sold to Western Europe and North America. According to a New York-based market research firm, NPD Group, US retailers at present sell over US$10.5 billion worth of intimate apparel a year.

Almost one million bras were sold, worth about ₤2.48 billion in the UK market in 2006.

Across emerging markets (e.g. India and China), a higher growth rate at 8.1% between 2004 and 2007 was recorded.

It is estimated that the world market size will increase by about 12% to over US$33.5 billion from 2007 to 2014.

Plus-size bras in demand

The growing share of plus-size intimate wear is a major trend across markets in the West.

The average bust measurement in the UK was 32 inches in the 1920s, and by 2000, it had increased to 36 inches. D-cup or larger sizes represent 18% of sales in the French market, and 9.5% of all French women aged 15 or over fall into the "large" size category when choosing any form of lingerie.

In North America, it is estimated that some 68% of the US women wear a size 12 or larger, and 52% wear size 14 or larger. Plus-size bras for full-figure women and teens are sharing a larger market in the US.

One of the leading bra producers says that the average size has risen from 34B to 36D in the last decade. Moreover, there has been a 30% increase in demand for cup sizes of DD and above since 2003 in the UK.

The growing issue of obesity is the prime reason for the escalating demand of plus-size intimate wear.


Marks & Spencer introduced larger cup sizes
About 32% of UK women are overweight (measuring a body mass index, BMI, of between 25 and 30), and an additional 21% of women are obese, measuring a BMI of over 30. The BMI of a normal weight lies within a range of 18.5 and 24.9. Over the Atlantic, a study released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last November reported that 35.3% of US women were obese in 2005-2006.

Plastic surgery is also a contributory factor. More than 28,900 surgical procedures were carried out in 2006 by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) members, up 31.2% from 2005. Among the procedures, 6,156 of them were breast augmentation in 2005. Breast enhancement also gets more popular with celebrity trends.

Facing a growing demand, Marks & Spencer (M&S) introduced late last year larger cup sizes and special ranges to cater for the DD+ market in the UK. It was also the first high street store marketing bras up to a J-cup. Those who previously had to go to specialist fitters for custom-made bras that gave them appropriate support and comfort can now buy suitable lingerie on the high street.

Currently, about a quarter of all bras sold at M&S are a D or above. M&S's head of lingerie design Soozie Jenkinson says that more young women are wearing larger cup sizes. The best-selling cup size at M&S is now 36C and it was 34B just five years ago.

More companies are also offering larger cup sizes in fashionable, younger looking styles in the UK, such as Belle by Fantasie providing cup sizes from B to JJ, Playtex up to Jewel range, and JD Williams with its plus sizes.


Specially designed sports bra is made for bigger active women
Suppliers also cater for the special need of bigger women when exercising. US-based Junonia, providing intimate wear and sports wear especially for women of size 14 or above, offers sports bras made of heavier and stretchable cotton knit. These special sports bras offer supports to avoid back pain or other discomfort due to wearing a wrong-sized or thin-support (lightweight) bra.

New way to measure right fit

Larger breast size is not restricted to the western markets. In China, a recent research conducted by the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology under the sponsorship of a Chinese lingerie brand, Aimer, found that the bust circumference of Chinese women increased by nearly one centimeter in the past decade. The study also found that Chinese women were 0.5cm taller than their previous generation ten years ago.

Due to the changing body shape and commonly-found misfit of bra sizes, researchers in Hong Kong and China underwent a study and proposed a new sizing system, especially for Chinese women.

Named the Best Viewpoint in the Best Invention of the Year 2007 by Time Magazine, the research was developed by Dr Winnie Yu, Associate Professor of the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) under The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Dr Rong Zheng, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, PRC and Prof Jintu Fan, Professor of the ITC under PolyU.


The body cross-section above shows the DWR and underbust girth are two key variables in the new bra sizing system
The researchers found that the existing sizing system of bras involved a few assumptions to round up a bra size as an even number from 30 onwards, while the cup size, measuring the difference between bust girth and underbust girth, in A, B, C and so forth was also an approximation. Some retailers in the UK, such as Playtex, have introduced half cup-size to ease the issue.

The findings of Dr Yu, Dr Zheng and Prof Fan show that two major factors, namely the overall body built and volume of the breast, are instrumental in the determination of the most optimal size of a bra for a particular user. The first factor can be measured by underbust girth, and the latter factor by breast depth width ratio (DWR), equal to the depth of the breast divided by width of the breast.

The breast DWR is a novel concept which measurement provides a closer to optimum fit. The ratio can be calculated by measurements with a simple caliper or by body scanning.

Further pilot tests would be needed to commercialize their findings, Dr Zheng told ATA Journal.

Emerging markets promise growth momentum

International lingerie specialty brands, meanwhile, are looking at emerging markets for future growth. Triumph, for instance, is expanding their business into Asia, Central Europe and parts of South America.


Ralph Jansen of Triumph
Executive Director of Triumph International Overseas Ltd, Ralph Jansen, said that lingerie manufacturers and brands found themselves today in a transformed and intensely competitive sector. Triumph International answered to the trend by offering a wide brand portfolio within its well-known lingerie brands, namely Triumph, Sloggi, Valisere and HOM.

With its own manufacturing network, Triumph invested millions of US dollars over the past two years to keep its market position and drive the technology further. It also opened a newly built factory-park in Chennai of India last year, which is the 17th factory of Triumph around the world.

In face of a growing trend of eco-friendliness, the company planned to launch products based on eco-cotton in the near future.

"In our today’s environment, companies like Triumph International have a responsibility to contribute to a higher eco-trend awareness and friendliness. Because of that, we have kicked off a number of internal energy saving projects, involving reduction of electricity in production centers, isolation measures in production for more efficient air-condition systems and for reduced consumption of energy and fuel," he added.

On the technological front, new Triumph offerings using the Bemis bonding technology would be seen in the market very shortly.

The bonding technology provides a soft, highly elastic, adhesive film designed for apparel applications where stretch and recovery are required, such as underpants. It adheres to polyester, poly/cotton and blended fabrics.

Being one of the largest lingerie brands worldwide, Triumph International recorded an annual global turnover of more than CHF2.6 billion (or about US$2.49 billion) in 2006.

Among other markets, China is a major target. The Swiss-based lingerie manufacturer and marketer currently operates 10 stand-alone stores and some 1,400 counters on the mainland. With a double-digit growth in turnover for Chinese regions, Triumph is going to open up to 300 mainland outlets in the next three to five years.

In addition, Russia is also a fast-growing market and its leading lingerie retailer, Wild Orchid, has entered the global scene.

With a 12% of Russia’s total market share, it is now the largest lingerie retailer and manufacturer in Russia.

The company operates a network of about 216 stores in Russia and Ukraine under multiple brand names. It has a retail chain of 53 luxury lingerie shops branded Wild Orchid, with about a half share in the luxury lingerie market; 156 Bustier outlets targeting the moderate price segment; and seven VI Legion for men's underwear. The company reaches an annual sales volume of about US$100 million.
According to the company, the Russian lingerie market jumped 30% per annum while its clothing market achieves an annual growth rate of 15%-18%.

Wild Orchid considered a vertical integration and fast product-to-market delivery vital in the fast-changing Russian market. The company expected that by 2009, the company would achieve an annual sales volume of US$300 million. The production output would increase from the present 2 million to 25 million items a year by 2010. It also considered opening stores in France and Italy, as well as China.

Luxury and nature promoted at latest lingerie exhibition

by Adrian Wilson

For the intimate apparel and swimwear markets, a liking for luxury now has to be tempered with a move towards less waste.

The environmental was without doubt the key theme at the 2008 Interfilière and Salon International de la Lingerie exhibition held in Paris in January, with a special day of conferences devoted to exploring the concepts of organic, ethical and sustainable practices during the event.

According to Jos Berry of leading fashion consultancy Concepts Paris, a key trend is towards "eco luxury", with upmarket brands, especially in Italy, now employing natural fibers, and the fine gauge knitting of companies like Austria's Willy Hermann Superfine, in gauges of E44, E50, E54 and E60, making a significant contribution to this.

However, especially in luxury items, there is a trade-off.

"Whatever your activity, you have an impact on the environment, but have to ask yourself what are the stakes of this activity in five years’ time," said Sylvie Bénard, environmental director for LVMH Group. "The chances are, if you don't change them now, you will have to in five or ten years in a painful way."

With sales from fashion and leather goods alone of over 5 billion euros and a stable of luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Donna Karan, Ms Bénard acknowledged that packaging was another big issue.

"When you are in luxury brands you are selling dreams, so being less extravagant with resources is contrary to the nature of the industry," she said.

Ria Stern, director of marketing for Korea-based Hyosung and its global spandex brand Creora, put it another way.

"In general, the problem is that nobody wants to give up anything," she said. "Especially in areas like intimate apparel, consumers want the right price, the glamour and luxury, and the functionality."

New recycled nylon for lingerie

Hyosung introduced products made from its new Mipan Regen recycled polyamide 6 (nylon) intended for such delicate articles as swimwear and intimate apparel at Interfilière.


Hyosung introduced products made from its new Mipan Regen recycled nylon
Exhibits on display in Paris included a swimsuit employing fabrics developed by Sae Lim Textile in Korea, comprising 80% Mipan Regen and 20% Creora spandex, with a weight of just 172 gsm.

"What differs about the new Hyosung process for recycling nylon," explained Ms Stern, "is that we are taking this waste back to raw caprolactam, repolymerising and then extruding it, so that the result is there is no difference between Mipan Regen and first quality fiber in terms of performance."

The process is based on the use of post-consumer waste, including industrial fishing nets, collected with the aid of the Korean government, as well as cut and sew scrap from garment mills and carpet.

"To be able to get down to much finer fibers for knits means that products are no different from first grade nylon fabrics in terms of their properties," said Ms Stern. "In intimate apparel the story has always been about natural fibers such as Tencel or organic cotton and there has been nothing at all to talk about in swimwear, as far as environmental issues are concerned, up to now."

Clean production more popular

Following in the footsteps of other industrial sectors, the textile industry, including fiber producers, spinners and weavers, is getting to grips with environmental issues.

Many companies exhibiting at Interfilière have in recent years launched investment programs to bring their factories into line with ecological standards and offer "clean" production by saving energy and water and taking active measures against waste and pollution.

One such company is Italy's Eurojersey, which invested around 25 million euros in the technology to improve production efficiency of its Sensitive fabrics.


Eurojersey's stand at the 2008 Interfilière in Paris
"Our aim was to set a benchmark for the global warp knitting industry in terms of sustainable growth," said company chief, Andrea Crespi, at the event, "and from just one site in Italy.

"But to remain in Italy it was necessary to become extremely efficient in every process."

Mr Crespi said that the results of the investment had been considerable.

Measured in terms of cost per kilogram of Sensitive fabric, the company was now achieving savings of around 19% in water -- which as a dyer and printer is very significant, amounting to some 71 million liters saved since the changes. In addition, the use of dyes and chemicals has been reduced by 25% through accurate color blending and dosing, the amount of methane gas is down 13% and that of electricity by 5%.

Taking place in Paris this January, the Salon International de la Lingerie brought together over 580 exhibitors and some 22,000 visitors in an exhibition space measuring over 40,000 square meters.
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