by Ali Cudby

I was fortunate enough to see the Van de Velde facilities in Belgium recently and the experience has heightened my appreciation for the value of quality lingerie.

Of all the things I saw on the tour that amazed me – and there were a lot of them – what remains in my mind as particularly innovative is their blending of old and new technologies to ensure the highest quality product across all of their brands.

For example, machines are used to unspool and respool every single bolt of fabric that comes into the factory, to ensure that all fabric being used has the same tension.  As the fabric is goes through this process, it is examined for imperfections – this is done the old fashioned way, by a person with good eyes and a roll of tape.  In order to ensure excellence, these spotters are only allowed to perform this task for 3 hours per day, maximum.

Sophisticated machines are used to test and measure the tensile strength of each piece of fabric the company is planning to use, to ensure it has the ability to hold up under the strain of use, especially for fuller busted women.  At the same time, wear testing is done with a series of consumer-grade washers.  (I did note that they don’t even attempt to test their fabrics in the dryer.  If you’re a consumer putting your lingerie through the dryer, you’re venturing into uncharted waters, and it’s about as highly recommended as swimming with hungry sharks wearing a chum-drenched swimsuit.)

Finally, to achieve maximum uniformity with minimum waste, computers are used to generate exact cuts on each piece of fabric.  Cuts are designed into the bolt of fabric, with a razor-thin margin between cuts.  Lace, on the other hand, is hand cut with a press die designed for each specific garment.

This process is used for every single garment the company produces, and each year, Van de Velde produces 300 new models of lingerie – 50 different sizes and 60 unique colors.  That adds up to 8,500 unique items annually.  For each of these items, there are numerous elements – sometimes upwards of 50 individual components per item.

Understanding the level of sophistication that goes into the manufacture of the Van de Velde products helps to explain its value, which can be useful for both retailers and customers.  When every garment is given such dedication to excellence and quality checked to this degree, it’s helpful to share some of this information with customers, so they can better appreciate what goes into luxury lingerie and, by extension its prices.

by Ali Cudby

The Autumn/Winter 2012 Paris Salon International de la Lingerie was a mash up of color, sound – and 50 particularly innovative lights, courtesy of Valisère’s Corsage Magique.

The Corsage Magique is a corset that is made with lace and a backing fabric featuring a decorative motif – but the design is much more than decoration.  The fabric actually has 50 miniature LED lights that are the size of sequins built into the fabric, and the “seams” are the tiny wires running through the garment in an attractive swirling pattern.

The innovative textile design is called “e-broidery” and was created by well-known embroidery designer Forster Rohner AG of Switzerland.  The fabric was two years in the making, and what’s really remarkable about it transcends description – it’s the feel of the fabric in your hand that’s amazing.  Truly, you would never know there was technology running through the garment.  The wires and lights are no bulkier than seams – it feels like normal fabric.

When you’re ready for the magic to begin, the lights are turned on by a switch at the bottom of the garment and powered by a box smaller than an ipod, which can be easily stowed at the small of the back.

Once the corset is on, the sequins come to life and sparkle in a programmed pattern. Each light can be individually programmed, adding movement and yet another dimension of dazzle.  Since the lights are so small, the effect is delicate and artistic, rather than garish.  As can happen with lingerie, the photo doesn’t do the corset justice.

Currently the garment is not available for consumer purchase – it’s being produced for strategic uses, such as catwalks, trade shows and marketing/store displays.  No matter where it’s used, there’s no doubt that the Valisère Corsage Magique will spark people’s interest.

by Ali Cudby

 The Paris 2012 Salon International de la Lingerie may be underway, yet it seems fitting to pause and take a look back to last year’s Paris show.  The winner of the Most Creative Design Award at the ULTRA Fashion Show was a company showcasing a new approach to breast support – Embrace, out of Ireland.

Embrace’s patented innovation is based on a design that redistributes the weight of the breast, allowing for less movement of the bra on a body.  The theory behind the inspiration is that even the best fitting bras will move to some extent over the course of a day, due to the ways in which they sit on a woman’s body.

The Embrace approach relies on an “Internal Support System” that sits under the breast and is anchored in three places – in the bridge and under each arm.  This Internal Support System is, essentially, a cutaway that is then overlaid with a cup – but it’s the internal piece that’s doing the work of supporting the breasts.  According to owner Reenagh McCall, current bra technology supports breasts to account for horizontal and vertical tension.  By incorporating the internal structure, Embrace is able to add an additional element of support, which will ultimately provide a more sound system that doesn’t move, no matter what a woman’s daily activities.  With Embrace, “movement acts on the outer layer of the bra, not the inner, because the inner layer takes the weight,” says McCall.

Depending upon the job a woman wants her bra to do, there are a number of Internal Support System designs.  For example, there is the Support Me™ with “fuller coverage, for structured support and moderate lift.”  Another is the With or Without Me™, which incorporates a removable underwire.  This is a patented design that enables a woman to move from active/day to rest/night activities without having to change bras.  A removable underwire also provides the added benefit of easier laundering.  There are currently eight Internal Support System designs, each with a targeted job.

Embrace is currently working on a collection that they are aiming to introduce at the A/W13 shows.

by Ali Cudby

The past year saw innovation hit retail stores in a number of forms, but few introductions were as cool as this one – the new line from Amoena Mia.  What sets the Mia line apart is the incorporation of a patented fabric, called Comfort+, into their bras.

The Comfort+ technology actually helps to regulate the body’s temperature.  Specifically, when a woman warms up, the fabric aids in pulling the heat away from her body; and when it cools, the heat stored in the fabric is, again, transferred back to a woman’s body.

What makes all of this possible is the Comfort+ material itself which, according to Amoena Mia is “an Outlast® fabric densely saturated with micro-capsules.”  These capsules respond to fluctuations in body temperature.  The effect is a more comfortable experience for women, particularly those who chafe where their bras rub against their bodies, such as under the breasts – as the infrared images clearly demonstrate.  Less chafing means less irritation and fewer rashes – great news for women who suffer from such maladies.You wouldn’t know you were looking at an advance in science by admiring the line of garments themselves – they simply look like stunning lingerie, in a range of sizes that runs from band sizes 32 to 46, and up to a J-cup.  In addition to the lingerie, the Comfort+ fabric is part of the line’s swimwear collection.

In both cases, the regulating material is placed strategically throughout the garments, with a focus on the areas women need most, such as the bridge, underband, cup sling and side panels.  These are the areas most prone to heat build-up.

In other words, just because a woman looks hot in the Amoena Mia line, doesn’t mean she’s feeling the heat.

The world of intimates is constantly evolving, and while consumers may not always be aware of the changes, innovation helps make women’s underpinnings increasingly supportive, comfortable and gorgeous.  Intimate Innovations will look at the enhancing world of lingerie from the perspectives of materials, manufacturing processes and marketing.

Recently, Empreinte’s new Diva line brought innovation to the market through its unique use of materials.  Namely, the Diva line is a seamless cup of molded guipure lace.  What makes this line unique is the material itself.  In developing the Diva line, Empreinte worked with both a German moulding expert and a Swiss embroiderer in order to marry the technology, design and process required to create and fit the line.  Development of the Diva line took the team at Empreinte eighteen months.

It works by embroidering the lace onto paper, which is then dissolved through a chemical process.  What makes guipure different from other laces is the way the design is held together, specifically, the fact that it does not employ a mesh background.  The result is a stunning tattoo-like effect on the body.

The fact that Empreinte designs for fuller figures – cup sizes C through G – makes the innovation in this bra even more striking.  It requires a lot of engineering to design a garment that combines the strength to support a larger cup in such a delicately beautiful, seam-free package.  The Diva line was “inspired by couture” and it’s easy to see the source of the inspiration in the garments.

Please share information about your upcoming Intimate Innovations by contacting Ali Cudby – ali@fabfoundations.com.

Intimate Innovations by Ali Cudby, author of the Lingerie Blog: Fab Foundations. Ali mines the international materials market to share cutting edge technical and fabric components creating revolutionary changes in the Intimates market.