Gen Z’s body inclusivity focus reshapes global lingerie market

28 September 2023, Mumbai

A strong focus on body positivity and self-acceptance has now compelled innerwear brands to offer a more inclusive range of products and an expanded size range in a whole new evolved fashion landscape.

It blends comfort with contemporary designs. Experts say the global innerwear market size that was estimated at $203.72 billion in 2022, is expected to grow at a rapid CAGR of 5.4 per cent from 2023 to 2030.

Young India

With India being a country with the youngest population in the world, the Gen Z innerwear trends of fashionable design, comfortable fit, and trendy sustainable styles are ruling the market.

Being far more internet-savvy and better informed than most other generations, Gen Z is focused on taking the innerwear segment out of the back of the closest into mainstream fashion.

A recent Isobar-Ipsos survey showed, around 69 per cent of Gen Z usually prefer brands that collaborate with local artisans to promote their cause while 68 per cent prefer buying niche brands that support social causes and body inclusivity.

Niche brands concentrate on sustainability and self-acceptance

Niche brands such as Chité Milano from Italy have gained a lot of popularity on social media with an ideology that encourages women to express themselves without inhibition as the brand wants to convey a message of self-acceptance and self-love.

Other unique European brands such as Ana Shaf use eco-friendly Oeko-Tex-certified fabrics and Supima cotton and have banned plastics and polybags using paper packaging at sale counters. They also offer various cup sizes and wire-free bras and mesh brassieres to enhance comfort while focusing on being trendy and sustainable.

Different strokes for different folks

The brand ideologies of these new and niche global brands are in sharp contrast with established premium luxury brands such as Victoria’s Secret which have always focused on sexy lingerie and a very specific body type of mainly supermodels.
Most independent lingerie companies believe the industry has frequently and inadequately acknowledged women’s wants and wishes and has not anticipated customer needs and body types.

The Les Girls Les Boys underwear brand concentrates on ultra-modern and without-boundaries underwear, intimates, swimwear, and apparels that have a fluid design philosophy and even a unisex collection.

The focus is on women getting support and comfort while feeling fashionable, even if they don’t want to wear corseted underwear or other constructed pieces of clothing.

India’s innerwear market focuses on innovations

The Indian innerwear market is now finally baring all and coming into its own by establishing a strong presence on social media and physical stores and connecting with urban women like never before.

This $6 billion innerwear market in India is huge with around 60-70 per cent still largely unorganized and the balance 30-40 per cent is organized with both online and offline brands which are rapidly growing at around 15-20 per cent per annum.

Competitive Landscape

In this small space, big brands such as Jockey, Zivame, Van Heusen, Rupa, Enamor, Clovia, Marks & Spencer, Nykaa and Amante among others are fighting it out neck-to neck to make their way into women’s closets.

The competition between two new players viz. Reliance Retail and Nykaa who are now becoming the country’s best-known retailers, is beginning to play out in multiple categories.
Juggernaut

With a strong online presence, Reliance Retail now has six innerwear brands in its product portfolio, which includes private label Hush retailed through Reliance Trends, acquired digital brands such as Clovia, Zivame and Amante and working partnerships with international brands Marks & Spencer and Hunkemoller

A whole new bandwagon of lingerie manufacturers are currently competing with established players with the concept that a woman’s style comes from what lies beneath and this segment is expectedto do better than many other apparel segments that are out there in the open for the world to see.

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