Working as a buyer in the lingerie industry, friends and family ring me up from time to time to let me know what the next trend in lingerie is going to be. Something they've seen on telly or read in the papers, that is going to take the lingerie industry by storm. Last week it was several people telling me that the Conical Bra is due to make a come back and have we got them on order, ready for the deluge of demand. A little bit of research and it would appear that a couple of our more notable designers Louise Goldin and Jean Paul Gaulti
er have been promoting the look on the cat walk this season.
This has been coupled in the newspapers with an increase in demand for the Triumph Doreen and the Fantasie Belle Bras both of which produce a slightly more pointed shape than some other styles, creating the headlines of the return of the Conical Bra. Lets put this in perspective and come back to the real world, the Fantasie Belle sales relate to an increase in sales following a concert by Madonna, who we all know loves her pointed bras, where she wore a see through blouse with a Belle Bra underneath, which Fantasie were very quick to take advantage of and use to market the bra, resulting in a 10% increase in sales in a week. The Triumph Doreen is probably the oldest bra on the market having been around for over 40 years and is marketed as the World's Best Selling Bra. There is most definitely a market still for this bra, but it is not a young fashion led market and increases in sales are not at all related to current fashions. As for Jean Paul Gaultier, didn't he design the conical bra worn by Madonna on stage in the 80's and doesn't he have a perfume range, where the bottles are in the shape of a female with conical pointy breasts.
So do I think the conical bra is due to make a comeback, not for a moment! Do women come into Lingerie Stores and ask for bras to give them pointy boobs, not very often, but you do hear complaints if they feel a bra is making them look too pointy. Will we stocking up with lots of conical bras, I don't think so, but for those of you who like the Triumph Doreen and the Fantasie Belle, neither of which are truly conical in shape, then of course we do stock them and will carry on doing so.
