Last year plus size lingerie specialist Simply Yours decided to give the women who wear its lingerie the chance to decide what they want to wear. Its customers, fashion students and all round lingerie lovers were invited to enter the lingerie design competition called From Brief to Bra to get their design made and sold in the Simply Yours 2011 Spring Summer collection.
It was a big success. Over 100 women entered the competition with inspiration for their dream lingerie sets ranging from Hollywood Glamour to birds and flowers. Three finalists were then chosen by a panel of judges at the Simply Yours headquarters before the final decision was handed over to the Great British public on Facebook.
Nearly 400 people voted on their favourite design and the lucky winner is 38 year old Christine Pipes, from Consett, County Durham, a teacher at Newcastle Royal Grammar School in Jesmond, Newcastle. Christine’s cupcake design was inspired by a set of retro mugs she had recently purchased and cupcakes a student had baked for her school’s charity week. Christine says:
The appeal of cupcakes in the retro design and the feminine pastel shades which are subtle but still vibrant. My aim is to find a balance between the comfort and practicality of everyday wear and the elegance and femininity that all women should embrace.
But that’s not were it ends. The design will be produced and sold both in the Simply Yours catalogue and online at www.simplyyours.co.uk. In addition Christine will also be involved in the development of the lingerie set, working with expert designers and lingerie buyers from the Simply Yours team, from the materials sourcing stage right through to the final product photoshoot. The successful design will sit alongside underwear from famous names such as Freya, Panache, Pour Moi and Wonderbra, as well as a stylish control wear collection designed exclusively for Simply Yours by Gok Wan.
Alison Forbes, Marketing Manager at Simply Yours:
Christine’s cute as a button cupcake design captured the judges’ hearts from the beginning. As well as being downright adorable, Christine’s design incorporated thought for comfort and support – both very important factors to us at Simply Yours!
If you’re one of the 400 milllion Facebook fans around the world then you can follow Christine’s journey with Simply Yours over the coming months via their Facebook Page : From Brief to Bra
The Simply Yours collection covers the entire spectrum of plus size shapewear, including bras, corsets, slips and knickers, swimwear and nightwear. Sizes range from 30-50 with cups A-JJ and up to 56 and K and L in selected sizes – an important factor in Christine’s design.
Simply Yours also commented that the standard of entries entries was very high making it hard to choose the final three, and it plans to repeat the competition in the future.
Hello All, I am currently working for VjM Clothing, a new fashion design studio specifically producing bras. We are very interested in creating bras and lingerie for women with larger cup sizes. We are currently trying to gather as much information as possible from consumers so we can create a great product. We understand most bras for large breast sizes are uncomfortable and usually do not come in a variety of designs as smaller bra sizes. Please send any suggestions or information to info@vjmclothing.com so we can begin creating fantastic new designed bras for large cup sizes. We hope to send all participants a free bra from our product lines once they are complete!!! Thanks for time!
-VjM Design Team