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Many women will recognize it, the feeling of a pinched underwired bra.After a long day at work, a hot city walk or a far-flung flight, the firstreflex is usually: off with that thing. Nowadays, more and more women,including many millennials, prefer bralettes over wired bras. But for women withcup D or higher, the soft bralette often offers insufficient support. Forthem, it can be a challenge to find the golden mean between comfort andsupport.
This may change. This past Monday, Elles Roeleveld and Anet van Haaster launched their lingerie brand Soft Revolt. In short: Soft Revolt offersa feminine, subtle bra for women with a fuller cup who don't want to wearunderwire, but do need support. The bra is the result of a year and a halfof intensive research into the wishes of women and the possibilities ofcomputer-controlled knitting technology. Van Haaster: "With Soft Revolt wefulfill a great need for which there is now little supply.
In the winter of 2019, Roeleveld traded a flourishing career infinance for lingerie. Roeleveld: "I wanted to work in lingerie from the ageof thirteen. My mother worked in a lingerie store, my first salary went tolingerie. After high school I wanted to study technical textile science, butin the end I decided to go to university. I worked at ING for years, butafter ten years it started gnawing. She left the financial world and wentto work for Fabienne Zwanenburg, owner of the famous Amsterdam lingeriestore Salon de Lingerie. Roeleveld: "Fabienne taught me the tricks of thetrade. But I also wanted to know what happened in the fitting rooms oflingerie stores. What problems are there? What do women have to dealwith?
Roeleveld noticed that there was a trend towards wireless bras."Especially at home, or at the weekend. But at millennials I also noticedthat underwired bras and sports bras were becoming more popular as everydayproducts". Van Haaster, who had been working in fashion consultancy fortwenty years, also noticed this development. "The younger generation valuescomfort. They move a lot, play sports a lot, travel a lot. They likesoftness and natural shapes, they literally don't want to be in astraitjacket". Roeleveld: "There were several trends that pointed out: wireless is the way to go".
Roeleveld started her own lingerie line in the spring. “It had tobe beautiful, suitable for fuller cup sizes, and durable. But it wasn'treally innovative or sustainable at first, ”she says. "Something wasmissing in the concept." Van Haaster, who coached Roeleveld at the time inthe development of her collection, thought so too. "Elles had made a nicecollection, but I didn't think it was new enough." To get inspired,Roeleveld started looking at other industries, including the sportswearindustry. “In terms of technical innovation, sportswear is hugely ahead offashion,” explains Van Haaster. “Most of the innovation comes from brandslike Nike. Think of those knitted sneakers, the Fly Knits. A mega success,preceded by years of research.”
The Fly Knits would become an important source of inspiration for SoftRevolt. "A friend of mine took me to a lecture by Lidewij Edelkoort,"Roeleveld continues. "Afterwards, I got to talk to her, and when we talkedabout lingerie, she said: 'I don't understand why lingerie is still notknitted'. I immediately thought of those Fly Knits: knitted all in onepiece, sturdy, they can withstand pressure, have a nice round fit. Peoplerun marathons on them. Wouldn't that be possible for a bra as well? Threedays later, the ITMA (a big textile fair, ed.) would take place in Barcelona,that's where I flew to at the last minute. I saw all possible machines andmaterials. I became convinced that it could succeed. I called Anet andsaid: 'We are going to knit a bra'. Everyone laughed at me, but Anet said:'Wow. This is really a good idea''.
A bra is one of the most complicated garments to make: to obtain a good andsupportive shape no less than forty to fifty parts are needed. Aconstruction of tiny pattern pieces, straps, pieces of elastic, rings andhooks are attached to a solid base: the underwire bra.
Almost all existing bras are made of woven textile. This is striking,because woven fabrics give less than knitted material, such as jersey.Moreover, with the help of contemporary computer-controlled knittingmachines, specific and complex shapes can be realized. By choosing theright yarn, this can be given sturdiness. This way you can build a strong,supportive bra without the need for bras. "Our bra comes out of theknitting machine almost entirely in one piece," explains Roeleveld. "Notonly is that more efficient in terms of material use, but it also saves alot of CO2 emissions: we don't have to fly in parts from all over theworld.
Comfortable, efficient, durable - why doesn't the knitted bra exist yet?Van Haaster: "People have been making a sweater for hundreds of years: youmake a sleeve longer or shorter, change a neck, but in the end it remains asweater. This is different. Every step is new. That means that every steprequires extensive research, and therefore a lot of time and money. Not anattractive perspective in a fashion world that revolves around speed andcost savings. Roeleveld doesn't always have an easy time of it either."Just those yarns," she sighs. "We have tested about eighty yarns. And wehaven't even mentioned machines, or stitches, or stitch tension." But, shecontinues, "we are doing this research because it really fulfills a need.That too is a difference between a sweater and a bra. A bra is somethingthat you put on every day, that sits directly on your skin. It's afundamental product, which makes it very fascinating.
Soft Revolt is currently in the third phase of Climate-KIC, a Europeansupport program that offers coaching and funding to sustainable startups.In the start-up phase, Soft Revolt had to compete against 120 othercompanies. "We sat there, among the men from TU Delft with their innovativeaircraft skins," chuckles Roeleveld. Soft Revolt ended up in the top fourof the program. The only female member of the competition convinced the restof the panel after Van Haaster and Roeleveld sent her aprototype of the bra. Van Haaster: "We had to pitch the bra during a Zoomcall. When it was time for the jury verdict, she raised her hand first. Shehad put it on! And she said: 'Unfortunately it wasn't my size, because it'svery comfortable. And for your information, she said to the other men onthe panel, 'the first thing I usually do when I get home is take my braoff. Because there's a brace in there'. She reacted as an investor, butalso as a consumer".
While participating in Climate-KIC, Van Haaster decided to stop herconsultancy work in order to fully focus on Soft Revolt. Roeleveld: "Weentered a new phase. The first phase was mainly technical, the second moreconsumer-oriented. That's what Anet is good at. We held five, six focusgroups with women, selected by age and cup size, and talked to them abouttheir needs. We built a website and put the social media in order. Thereactions we get bring us the most pleasure.
"We have our own target group in mind, but all kinds of niche target groups surface," Van Haaster notes. "Everyone has a different reason for notwanting that brace. Roeleveld: "We get reactions from women who have breastcancer and are looking for a soft bra, people who work in disability carewho now have to hoist their clients in tight sports bras every day, butalso ex-corona-patients, who have difficulty breathing and for whom a brawith braces is too stiff. They are and will remain niches, but it is veryvaluable to hear a new perspective every time".
On Monday, August 31st, the brand's 'Soft Launch' will be held: the firstbras will go on presale via crowdfunding platform CrowdAboutNow. Theproceeds will be used to start production. In the presale the bras willcost 55 euros, the final retail price will be 79 euros. The bras, made ofresponsibly produced polyamide and cradle-to-cradle certified elastane,will be available in six different sizes - for cup C and larger - and forthe time being only in black. In the longer term, more sizes, colors andmodels should become available, but only if there is a demonstrable demand forthem. Van Haaster: "We make products that people need, not for theshowroom. On the occasion of the launch they did design a festive SoftRevolt-kimono. "We've had a lot of discussions about that kimono, after somuch research it's very difficult for us to make 'just anything'. Sometimeswe're a little too deep into it," Roeleveld laughs. "It can also just be fun attimes."
For the time being, the bras are only sold online. Roeleveld and Van Haasterhope to be able to organize their own fittings soon. "Maybe we'll rent somehotel rooms someday, or we'll take a van through the country," Van Haastermuses. Roeleveld's dreams already reach beyond the horizon. "I still haveso many ideas. In Israel, a bra was recently developed that can detect thefirst signs of breast cancer. That's very technical, but also enormouslyinspiring".
This article was originally published on FashionUnited.NL,translated and edited to English.
Homepage image: Soft Revolt