Cheryl Warner is the founder of Invest in Your Chest, a lingerie blog reaching women around the world. Cheryl started her blog in response to an awful fitting service she received on the high street. “It seemed that wherever you went the sizes would be miles apart and the fit never correlated. After taking a revolutionary and revelatory trip to Bravissimo I wanted to share the feeling I experienced from a correct-fitting bra. You’ve probably heard it said before, but it really and truly does change your life!”

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Following on from my recent report from the Moda Trade Show – a show which I’ve visited solidly now for five seasons – this year marked the debut of Pure Body, the first ever lingerie section of key womenswear trade show Pure London.

This lingerie trade show newcomer boasted a very different feel in comparison to the Moda show; the vibe was much more interactive and chilled out, with more members of the press and womenswear buyers just popping by the stands for a look at what the (still fairly small) array of lingerie and swimwear brands had to offer.

The show had a plethora of activities to enjoy. I made my way along to several introductory social media seminars, acquired blogging tips and tricks from key fashion blogger Liberty London Girl and was inspired by presentations from the likes of Ultimo lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone and UK indie retailer chain owner Sadie the Bra Lady.

Ms. Mone’s forum contained quaint anecdotes about her upbringing in working class Glasgow, Scotland, and how she worked ‘from nothing’ to the multi-millionaire, influential, media storm entrepreneur that she is today. The key message I took away was incredibly simple – ‘successful people never give up’ – something that we should all remind ourselves from time to time.

Her determination was mind-blowing, and her skills behind a microphone even more so. What impressed me the most, however, was how she stopped for over an hour after her speech to speak to fans and answered questions from business owners, students and press alike.

One of the most fascinating attractions for me, however, was the presentation by lingerie stylist Tamar Kendall. She demonstrated perfectly how the pressure for lingerie to be fashionable and follow outerwear trends is increasing year on year.

Even so, lingerie is still segregated from the World’s Fashion Weeks despite bras, bralets and ‘underwear as outerwear’ being so heavily featured on catwalks and regularly sported by celebrities. For this reason Pure Body has been a huge step for the fashion-conscious brand, as the barrier between fashion and intimate apparel becomes increasingly blurred.

Lingerie at Pure London

As this was the show’s first intimate apparel division, the amount of exhibitors from the industry was still fairly small, but the inaugural inclusion created a really fresh atmosphere and garnered a lot of interest in this increasingly fashion-orientated market.

Brands who made an appearance included: Ultimo, Curvy Kate, Paolita, Claudette, By Caprice, Who Made Your Pants, Mimi Holliday and Made By Niki. It was a delightful mix of smaller and larger bust brands, for buyers looking for either high end or mid-range brands. Many of the main players who would usually make the Moda show were notably absent, so hopefully after such a great reception in the debut year, the show will continue to grow.

The show was celebrated with a networking and drinks after party every evening, where all the different brands, buyers and journalists congregated to celebrate the future of the British lingerie industry. Champagne, gold confetti and canapes, anyone?

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