India calling
The demand for these bras was so immense, it was as if every girl's life depended on it. I pondered, how could a bra cause such a commotion? I realised that looking that good wasn't the catch...feeling good was.
So, as England came to grips with being uplifted, India beckoned. I considered it a personal calling. As with everything else in the world's fastest growing economy -- when times are changing, India is never far off the mark. Or so I thought.
There was, however, a small problem. Coming from England I believe every woman should know her bra size as well as she knows her shoe size, but I soon realised that retail in India had not been conducive to bra measuring. I had a city full of women who were all in the wrong size. 'I'm a B cup, I'm a B cup', they all protested. Yeah, right! I realised my work was cut out.
India calling
So they went into the changing room as A and B cups and came out as E and F cups. Despite the shock, women loved the way they felt. Lingerie and discomfort were two words that had been synonymous with each other. Not only were they happy to embrace their new sizes, they became like kids in a candy shop. They were now going through what British women had gone through for the last ten years. Overnight, Indian women's relationship with their lingerie changed. The basic, non-wired cotton bra wearing woman was fast turning into a demanding, lingerie-conscious consumer and what had taking England years to understand was grasped in the space of a year .
As we celebrate 101 years of this great product in 2008 (it was back in 1907 that the first bra was featured in the US edition of Vogue magazine), I look back and think of this move to India. Never one to take a back seat, I am really glad that I joined in this quest to dress India's women in the best. Yes -- the best. The best lingerie known to woman... and man.
No comments:
Post a Comment