Despite all those overshared memes on WhatsApp and the internet that say something like, “Never wearing a bra again once lockdown’s over,” lingerie is still being bought. Anecdotally, at the beginning of the pandemic, a couple of luxury brands told me that sales were very much going strong. Over on the high street, brands either added more to their current offerings or created a whole new lingerie line, which was the case with Zara.
According to the FT, the “underwear market has been a little more resilient during the pandemic than fashion generally: Sales are expected to contract 13% this year compared with a 16% fall for the wider industry.” While high heels and fancy dresses have become redundant, underwear hasn’t. After all, it is pretty essential.
I also spoke to Tanya Robertson, founder of Womanhood, a curated online lingerie shop, who revealed some interesting stats on lingerie sales in 2020. While the brand has only been operating for 16 months, during the first lockdown, it saw an increase of 179% in sales.
“Ongoing events have impacted our growth in a positive way,” says Robertson. “With more people at home and less external stimulus, customers are spending more time online browsing and buying. We have seen uplift in certain products that we would have expected without COVID. For example, if there is a unique print or beautiful lace that we anticipated would sell well, it usually does. It is now just happening at a faster rate.”
If you hadn’t already invested in new underwear, now a good 10 months into our WFH lives, you might be looking at your bras and knickers with the same kind of attention to detail you’d usually reserve for your shoes. As our lives have become more insular, it makes sense that we want to ensure the items that we’re wearing every day are functional and stylish and, most importantly, make us feel good.
Great news, then, as I’ve spotted some new lingerie brands that I can’t wait to share with you. Keep scrolling for everything you need to know…
Next up, The Biggest Spring/Summer 2021 Fashion Trends to Know
