Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

‘Sexy Lingerie Capitals’ Battle for Supremacy

Producing everything from the raciest underwear on Shein to comfy bras on European high streets, China’s intimate apparel industry is fragmenting into specialist hubs in improbable locations.

Image of a black and ping lace bralette — Several manufacturing hubs are branding themselves the ‘sexy lingerie capital’ of China. (Getty Images)

Rebecca Kanthor

30 August 2022

BoF PROFESSIONAL

The factories that keep the world supplied with underwear are dotted around the globe, but those in one country continue to play an outsized role in this most intimate of industries. Not only is China the world’s largest exporter of underwear and lingerie, but it also hosts the largest trade show of its kind for the sector.

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Chinese Brands Can Teach Victoria’s Secret How to Sell Lingerie Today

China’s $61 billion underwear market has been disrupted by digital-first domestic brands signalling subtle feminism and sensuality. International lingerie giants need to catch up.

Chinese Lingerie Brand Neiwai Raises $100 Million

One of China’s leading lingerie brands, Neiwai, recently completed a $100 million Series D financing round led by an unnamed global investment group,

The Intimates Business Is Changing. Can a 40 Year-Old Lingerie Company Keep Up?

The rise of start-ups like Skims and Parade have forced lingerie companies like Victoria’s Secret to evolve. Now, Cosabella, a decades-old lingerie company, is also rebranding to embrace a more inclusive image.

In This Article

Topics

China

This Week: What Moncler, Estée Lauder Have to Say About China

An emerging narrative this earnings season is that China’s troubled fashion market is stabilising. This week’s results will put that theory to the test.

Trump Extends China Truce for 90 Days, Averting Tariff Hike

Had the truce not been extended through Nov. 10, US tariffs on Chinese goods would have jumped to at least 54% starting on August 12.

Estée Lauder Companies, L’Oréal Suffer as China Duty-Free Spend Continues to Fall

The once-promising Chinese travel retail market is showing little signs of recovery, causing global beauty giants to reevaluate their strategies and reduce promotions.

Why China’s Gold Jewellers Are the Envy of Global Brands

With soaring profits and rapidly expanding store networks, ‘heritage-gold’ jewellery brands like Laopu Gold and Lao Feng Xiang are red-hot in China’s otherwise tepid luxury market.

Why H&M’s Sustainability Report Is So Unusual

The Swedish fast-fashion retailer is one of a shrinking number of companies that’s still drawing attention to its emissions goals. Plus, a Shanghai Fashion Week preview.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.

The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?

The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

CONNECT WITH US ON

News & Analysis

Topics

More

Careers

Community

Subscribe

About Us