According to Mintel the UK lingerie, nightwear and loungewear market was valued at £4.6bn in 2018, equating to a growth of 18.8% over the last 5 years. Whilst the sector has been protected to a degree up until now (given how essential the category is) the market has been driven predominantly by inflation since 2017, with actual volumes in decline.
Lingerie sales are expected to grow in the next three years
Growth in the lingerie market will remain stable over the next 5 years and volumes are forecast to recover up to 2023. A growing consumer appetite for newness and more fashionable underwear in the lingerie sector will drive spending up. Consumer spending on lingerie is expected to reach £5.5bn by 2023, representing 19.9% growth over 5 years.
Market research specialist Mintel reported that shapewear accounted for 30% of the market in 2016 with 13% of lingerie consumers purchasing shapewear. If these stats are still true, the UK shapewear market is now worth an impressive £1.3 billion. Having demonstrated the importance of this solution based, body confidence boosting product, what are consumers now looking for, when purchasing shapewear in 2020?
Intimate Apparel has been part of the lingerie industry for 30 years
Claire Franks has been in the lingerie industry for nearly 30 years, buying and selling shapewear in this challenging and dynamic market. In the last 14 years she has worked closely with three of the biggest global shapewear brands from the USA and Canada and has seen some significant changes in the shapewear offering in the UK, as well as numerous stylists and celebrities regularly talking about shapewear on TV and radio.
As a result, anything and everything named shapewear flooded the market at one point and sadly, in those times, much shapewear was sold that was no better than “big pairs of knickers.” As a result, shapewear acquired a reputation for being ill-fitting, uncomfortable and ineffective, but that wasn’t the case for long and hasn’t been for quite a few years.
Consumers want simple, effective, good quality shapewear
We are back to basics once again. Consumers are looking for simple, effective, good quality shapewear for everyday wear and that shapewear needs to be focused on performance, solution and function. Shapewear is a very demanding and technically complex product and whilst its always refreshing to see a fashion detail in a shapewear garment, simplicity is key, and functionality and comfort is what matters most to the consumer.
Everyday shapewear that offers all day comfort with smooth finishes is in demand
There is a need for everyday shapewear, especially a garment that offers all day comfort and an ultra-smooth seamless finish that gives the wearer a polished fluid body appearance. Every day shapewear has always been available from the global shapewear manufacturers and has evolved technically over recent years. Better technology in manufacturing and new high-performance fabrics, allow designers to now create high performance garments but in lighter, tactile fabrics that can be worn all day every day. Gone are the days of the old corsetry constructed shapewear garments that were worn only for special occasions.
Everyday shapewear is all about styles to be worn under any outfit, the best-selling silhouettes being the waist cincher and high waist brief. Nowadays, these often appear to be lighter in fabric and considered as much “smoothing” as controlling.
Has what we want from shapewear changed?
It has also been stated that there is a shift from extra firm fabrics that restrict and compress. However, Miraclesuit shapewear, the winner of 2019 shaping solutions award and the UK’s top selling shapewear brand for the last 5 years running, (Underlines annual shapewear report), continues to create firm and extra firm control in shaping silhouettes that slim and sculpt the body and although fabric innovations have allowed them to develop softer feeling garments with less seams, their continued huge success indicates a very high demand for MODERN firm shapewear to slim and sculpt the body.
New shapewear brands are coming into the market
New brands continue to come onto the global shapewear market, finding their niche and trying to offer something different. Skims by Kim Kardashian launched in the USA in 2019 and offers 13 different skin tones in 12 different shaping silhouettes. Sadly, we have yet to see it in Europe, but the brand is reported to be doing well and expanding quickly into different product groups so watch this space.
In short, the best designed shapewear will provide women with comfortable garments that not only slim but enhance and flatter their figure and this will always be popular.