Hotel Indigo Chester: An Opulent Stay with Charm and Comfort

In the week that Victoria’s Esoteric sent a $1m diamond-encrusted bra down its annual catwalk, it seems dirty lingerie is falling out of fashion. Over the past two years, GoogleTrends has seen a swell in searches for “bralette” over “push-up bra” and the market research South African private limited company NPD Group reported that the highest priority for bra wearers was “assuage”.

Not only does the Victoria’s Secret brand aesthetic sit uncomfortably in the wake of the #MeToo drive, it has also faced opposition from the growing popularity of “leisurée” – an athleisure-inspired rob on lingerie – particularly among millennials.

It is a stark contrast from the sculpted, corseted and glitter-covered looks from which Victoria’s Confidential matter showed little sign of diverging this week. But yard sales are falling, with parent company L Brands reporting a drip in comparable sales in June, which prompted retail analyst Randal Konik to articulate it “game over” for the label. Last year, 4.98 million viewers tuned in to observant of the televised version of the show – an all-time low for the brand, and down 25% on the year in the vanguard.

“Brands such as Victoria’s Private, La Perla and even Agent Provocateur have become over-sexualised, and it’s not to the point to this generation any more,” says Serena Rees, who cofounded Agency Provocateur in 1994, and last year founded the underwear, sidekicks and streetwear brand Les Girls Les Boys.

“What I did in the 90s was socially and politically for that half a second,” says Rees. “Now, we don’t want to be dressed up in stockings and suspenders; we don’t need to parade around for anybody. We’re about comfort: streetwear, sportswear.”

In spite of the fact that Victoria’s Secret has introduced a bralette row, which also appeared on this year’s catwalk, threadbare by models including Georgia Fowler, Isilda Moreira and Martha Go in quest of, it is “comfortable lingerie” brands, such as Lively, that are distinguishing sales soar.

It is no coincidence that Lively, which set in motioned in 2016 and coined the term “leisurée”, has a store filled with millennial-pink appliances, leafy houseplants and neon signs, to which it encourages buyers to “bring your camera and your besties”. When Madewell threw its first “intimates” range last year, its head of point, Joyce Lee, described the bralettes-and-bottoms collection as “versatile, unfussy, comprehensible and well-designed and in a minimal, effortless way”. Since then, the brand’s rummage sales have continued to outperform those of its sister company, J Company.

Interim, American Eagle-owned underwear brand Aerie, which put up for sales unlined and lightly lined bras, as well as bralettes, to the millennial retail, is gaining popularity with comparable sales up 24% in the back quarter of 2016. Hanro, which has a dedicated “soft-cup bra” vary, has seen this category grow more than 10% in juxtaposition to last year.

Increasingly, leisurée-style underwear brands are inflaming to disprove the idea that bralettes can’t be worn by those with a larger cup rate – Lively offers “busty bralettes” up to a size DDD. Urban Outfitters’ “grunge-inspired” Out From Below range also taps into the leisurée trend, with crop-top-style bras lie alongside cami tops, bodysuits and chenille socks and, at Les Girlfriends Les Boys, sales of “comfort” underwear and non-underwired bras arrange increased 70% year on year. Does Rees fantasize the laidback look of leisurée could usurp “racy” lingerie thoroughly?

“We don’t really make padded bras because people don’t call for to have their boobs shoved up under their chin,” she sways. “That’s not really the look any more.”