More than century ago in 1886, merchant Michael Braun and corset-maker Johann Gottfried Spiesshofer went down in history after becoming the first firm in the world to make a bra commercially available to women.
Never could they have known back then that the tiny corset factory they had set up in southern Germany would one day become Triumph, the world’s leading lingerie firm.
125 years on, the business that started out with just six sewing machines and six employees has gone global, with 37,500 employees working in over 120 countries – and it is still in the hands of the families of its founders.
Of course, the 1886 effort from the two was a primitive affair – a rigid wire cage that held the breasts in place, prosaically named the Bust Improver. The only concession to vanity was the addition of two bows tied onto each cup.
Fast forward 125 years, and Triumph has changed. This month, Triumph International is to commemorate their long history tailoring the female form with a limited edition collection of vintage-inspired corsets, bras and knickers that celebrate the nipped-in waists and high-waisted styling of the past.
But while the styling is all vintage, the comfort is as contemporary as it comes.
The collection offers pieces that marry both the best-loved heritage styles for which Triumph is famed, coupled with the cutting edge fabrics and fit technology that makes today’s lingerie infinitely more comfortable than the whalebone garments of old.