Lingerie: A revealing industry

How we got from here to there and everywhere in between. “2022, we coming in HOT!” [singer and fashion designer Rihanna](tweeted in January, announcing the first brick-and-mortar Savage x Fenty lingerie stores. For the company, launched in 2018 and valued at $1 billion three years later, its new shops symbolize the tangible success of a business built on reshaping underwear’s narrative. It’s a transition inspired by the [third wave of the body positivity social movement](. It wasn’t too long ago that stepping into an [American Eagle-owned Aerie]( store and seeing moles and stretch marks on the larger than life banners of scantily clad humans was a novel experience. In the past decade, lingerie models have begun to better represent women of different colors, sizes, and gender identities, a stark difference from their mostly thin, mostly white, and always digitally perfected predecessors. It’s also a transition that Victoria’s Secret botched (thanks in part to [misogynistic, corrupt leadership](). Regardless of the outcome of the world’s most recognizable lingerie brand’s much-too-late image overhaul and [split from L Brands](, the lacy heavyweight—yes, it’s still the biggest seller in the US—had to admit that female empowerment is essential for business. Let’s undo some buttons. 🐦 [Tweet this]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Lingerie February 09, 2022 Under the wire --------------------------------------------------------------- “2022, we coming in HOT!” [singer and fashion designer Rihanna](tweeted in January, announcing the first brick-and-mortar Savage x Fenty lingerie stores. For the company, launched in 2018 and valued at $1 billion three years later, its new shops symbolize the tangible success of a business built on reshaping underwear’s narrative. It’s a transition inspired by the [third wave of the body positivity social movement](. It wasn’t too long ago that stepping into an [American Eagle-owned Aerie]( store and seeing moles and stretch marks on the larger than life banners of scantily clad humans was a novel experience. In the past decade, lingerie models have begun to better represent women of different colors, sizes, and gender identities, a stark difference from their mostly thin, mostly white, and always digitally perfected predecessors. It’s also a transition that Victoria’s Secret botched (thanks in part to [misogynistic, corrupt leadership](). Regardless of the outcome of the world’s most recognizable lingerie brand’s much-too-late image overhaul and [split from L Brands](, the lacy heavyweight—yes, it’s still the biggest seller in the US—had to admit that female empowerment is essential for business. Let’s undo some buttons. 🐦 [Tweet this]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Brief history [1390-1485:]( Women make and wear “breastbags,” the oldest of which were found by archaeologists at Lengberg Castle in Austria. [1700s:]( “Stays” or whalebone corsets become daywear for ladies, molding the era’s idealized hourglass form.[Mid-19th century:]( Buttons and snaps start to appear in the middle of nightgowns to make “[envelope chemises](,” or closed drawers. It will take awhile for women’s underwear to fully embrace a non-open crotch. [1912:]( Madeleine Vionnet opens her fashion house in Versailles, swapping rigid corsets for a bias cut that gives nightgowns their fluidity.[1935:]( The first mention of “brief” appears in the Sears Roebuck catalog. [1941:]( Cone-shaped Perma-lift bras, or “bullet bras,” are invented.[1964:]( Louise Poirier creates the Wonderbra, which makes $120 million in its first year.[1977:]( Roy Raymond launches Victoria’s Secret. [2005:]( US state of Virginia tries (and fails) to fine people for showing their underwear above pants and skirts. [2011:]( Thinx debuts its menstruation underwear.[2018:]( Rihanna launches Savage x Fenty with the goal of making lingerie more representative of different body types and races.[2019:]( Kim Kardashian launches her shapewear and loungewear brand Skims after initially intending to use the name “Kimono.” [2021:]( Victoria’s Secret kickstarts a massive rebrand that focuses more on women’s achievements than their appearances. Giphy The way we 🩲 now Changing labels --------------------------------------------------------------- [Plucked from French](, lingerie literally means undergarments. But what’s considered lingerie can range from bras to robes to just about [anything that makes people feel good about themselves](, made from silk, cotton, and polyester, and just about anything else you can think of. Though often described as “intimate,” lingerie has had its fair share of very public moments: Sophia Loren’s [black corset]( in the 1960 film The Millionairess. Tom Cruise’s [underwear dance]( in 1983’s Risky Business. Madonna’s [cone bra]( in her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. Lingerie, though, is as much of an ideology as it is an item. “Nothing equals the voluptuous power of feminine underwear,” Baronne d’Orchamps wrote [in her book](, Tous les Secrets de la femme (All the Secrets of Women). But for too long that voluptuous power has been marketed and sold to appease [everyone except the person actually wearing it](. That’s changed, and brands—especially CUUP and Third Love in [the fast-growing direct-to-consumer space](—are rushing to support a growing demand for comfort, functionality, and inclusivity. Photograph by Eric Helgas, styling by Alex Citrin-Safadi Listen up! 🎧 Put it on ice --------------------------------------------------------------- More women are freezing their eggs for later use. The reasons vary—the high cost of having children, no suitable partner, pandemic panic, and more. The procedure’s popularity has grown as celebrities and regular people alike share their egg freezing experiences on social media. 1,000%: Increase in the number of women in the US who froze their eggs from 2009 to 2016 28: Median marriage age for women $20,000: High end of cost to freeze eggs in the US What’s the likelihood that egg freezing leads to a viable pregnancy? It’s a question we answer in the latest episode of the [Quartz Obsession podcast](. 🥚 Listen on: [Apple Podcasts]( | [Spotify]( | [Google]( | [Stitcher]( [Listen right now!]( By the digits [$325.4 billion:]( Projected size of global underwear industry by 2025 [$61 billion:]( China’s underwear market; Asia is lingerie’s fastest-growing market[$150 million:]( Savage x Fenty’s estimated revenues in 2020[200%:]( Increase in Savage x Fenty’s lingerie revenue from 2019 to 2020[$5.4 billion:]( Victoria’s Secret’s revenues in 2020 [28%:]( Decrease in Victoria’s Secret’s revenues from 2019 to 2020 [4.7 million:]( Savage x Fenty’s Instagram followers [71.5 million:]( Victoria’s Secret’s instagram followers, as of February 2022 Take me down this 🐰 hole! Victoria is still queen --------------------------------------------------------------- Even as the lingerie market grows more fragmented, there’s no denying that when it comes to US market size and sales, Victoria’s Secret is still on top. However, the company’s crown [is tilted](. It held 19% of the US women’s intimate apparel market in December 2020, down from 32% in 2015. But even at its lowest point, it still [beat its closest competitor](, Hanesbrands, which held 16% of the market. [A line graph showing Victoria's Secret's annual sales from 2004 through 2020. The line is on a steady incline until 2018, and then takes a sharp dip after 2020, presumably because of the pandemic.] It’s too soon to say if the exit of [longtime L Brands CEO Les Wexner](, the dewinging of “Angels,” a new [VS Collective]( featuring role models like Naomi Osaka and Paloma Elsesser, and a line of [mastectomy bras]( will turn around Victoria’s Secret’s market losses. Quotable “The essence and attitude of lingerie is all in suggestion.” —French designer Chantal Thomass, [quoted in an exhibit]( in the Fashion Institute of Technology Giphy Unhooked from reality A fit of one’s own? --------------------------------------------------------------- Much of the lingerie we think of today was born from an urge to modify outward shapes (think corsets and girdles) rather than to celebrate what was. In the late 1890s to 1910s, Edwardian fashion was obsessed with the [monobosom](. Picture a large-breasted pigeon—that’s what a corset was trying to mimic, an S-shaped silhouette achieved by tight cinching at the waist and looseness up top. Lingerie brands have come a long way, thanks in part to the latest wave of the body positivity movement, which is much more preoccupied with honoring what is. But as much as the movement—led by larger [Black and ethnic minority women](—has tried to redefine sexy, it hasn’t been able to escape the pitfalls of commodification. As Stephanie Yeboah wrote in 2020 for Vogue: “We’ve gone from seeing the movement be all about plus-size adulation and celebration to it now being centered on ‘acceptably fat’ women: beautiful women with extreme hourglass shapes, typically white or light skinned, with small waists, big hips, and high cheekbones.” Shapewear brands like Kim Kardashian’s Skims further [complicate the body positive movement](. So does the resurgence of Y2K fashion, which [feels counterintuitive]( to so much work that has been done to change fatphobia. And, believe it or not, the body positive movement [is still leaving out men](. Youtube Watch this! For women in the 18th and 19th centuries, getting dressed was… complicated. Under every petticoat were layers of chemises, garters, stays, bum rolls, and tie-on pockets, all with the goal of changing outward appearances from underneath. Fun fact! The most expensive piece of lingerie sported 150 carats of diamonds and [priced at $30 million](. It’s technically a swimsuit, but… Giphy Pop quiz Lingerie accounts for what percentage of sustainable apparel? 1.3%5.4%2.4%7.1% Correct. Thrifted unmentionables aren’t in high demand, but the market is ripe for sustainable fabrics and recycling. Incorrect. Not quite the right fit. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Giphy Pop quiz Do you think the lingerie industry has improved? [Click here to vote]( Yes, I finally see people like myselfNo, everything’s badIt’s a work in progress 💬 let's talk! In last week’s poll about [opening ceremonies](, 42% of you planned to stream the highlights, 35% of you said you never watch them, and 23% of you think they’re the best part of the Games. Subscribe to our [Need to Know: Beijing Olympics]( newsletter for all the conflict and controversy of the 2022 Winter Games. ✏️ [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20lingerie%20&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Morgan Haefner]( (has run out of euphemisms for bras and thongs), edited by [Susan Howson]( (can’t unsee the word “breastbags”), and produced by [Jordan Weinstock]( (is keeping this brief). [facebook]([twitter]([external-link]( The correct answer to the quiz is 2.4%. Enjoying the Quartz Weekly Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Weekly Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States