Sparklewren Autumn 2020 Lookbook ‘Bless The Weather’. The Underpinnings Museum. Photography by Jenni Hampshire. Although the Sparklewren brand is still on indefinite hiatus, earlier this year designer Jenni Hampshire was inspired to create this capsule collection. The corset bases were stitched prior to the closure of the brand’s ‘Corset Paradise’ workshop, with embellishment and finishing touches completed this year. Taking inspiration from the surrounding Northumberland landscape and the designer’s experience of Spring and Summer. The garments were captured with Jenni’s two ponies, Skye & ..read more

This guest blog post was kindly written by Claire Salmon. Claire Salmon is currently pursuing an MA in History of Design at the Royal College of Art after having completed a BFA at Parsons School of Design. Her studies focus on women, lingerie and their historical relationship. You can find her on Instagram @clairesal. The end of the nineteenth century was marked by several political, economic and social changes that permanently affected the fabric of Western communities. To understand how these changes were reflected in the lives of ordinary people, it can be useful to explore their effect o ..read more

‘High Line’ CC41 Cotton Bra By Kestos, c. 1941, Great Britain. The Underpinnings Museum. Photography by Tigz Rice The Kestos lingerie brand has long been one of my favourite in the grand scheme of lingerie history; the ‘Kestos’ bra is an iconic design that arguably revolutionized women’s underwear, with the same silhouette produced from the 1920s through to the 1950s. Even today, contemporary intimates designers regularly reference the striking design lines. Underwear history as a general rule is scarce, with few resources available. Many of the sources and references available are often poorl ..read more

Another installment in our blog series ‘Favourite Things’, where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today’s selection comes from Ayten Roberts of Ayten Gasson. Ayten Gasson is a luxury lingerie and sleepwear brand, specialising in fine silks and vintage Nottingham laces with all products hand made in the UK.  Ayten’s pick is the Black Silk & Lace Ribbonwork Step In: Black Silk & Lace Ribbonwork Step In, c. 1920s, USA. The Underpinnings Museum Photo by Tigz Rice I frequently feature silk teddies and playsuits in my collection ..read more

Earlier this year, The Underpinnings Museum ran its first major fundraiser since 2016’s Kickstarter (the crowdfunding campaign that helped us to launch this website). We took to social media to ask our followers to donate towards an incredibly rare garment: an early, c. 1830s corset. The campaign was a runaway success, and in a single week we raised over $1000 to add this incredible piece of history to our collection! A huge thank you to every person who helped, be it through donating or sharing the campaign on social media; it’s your support that makes this entire project possible, and allow ..read more

Initially developed in Canada in the 1930s, lingerie manufacturer Canadelle first registered its Wonderbra name as a Trademark in the United States in 1955. In 1963 the Wonderbra brand introduced Canada’s first push-up bra, the ‘Dream Lift’ style number 1300, which remained on sale relatively unchanged for many years. In 1968, Canadelle granted the UK licence for the Wonderbra to Courtaulds Textiles whose subsidiary, Gossard, manufactured and distributed the bra for over two decades. Susanna Hailstone, writing for the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 1994, summarised Wonderbra’s st ..read more

Another installment in our blog series ‘Favourite Things’, where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today’s selection comes from Stephanie Bodnar of Evgenia. Evgenia specialises in luxury lingerie inspired by 1930s lingerie silhouettes and the 1920s embellishment technique of lace insertion. The brand’s ‘Night Garden’ set is part of the museum’s collection.  Stephanie’s pick is the Overlocked Floral Jacquard Weave Ribbon Corset. Overlocked Floral Jacquard Weave Ribbon Corset, c. 1900, Great Britain. The Underpinnings Museum. Photo b ..read more

Running an online museum has its own special rewards and challenges. Although we have lots of visitors, we don’t get to meet you all in person and chat about what you liked or didn’t like in our exhibitions. Although costs are lower than for a museum with a physical location, there are still many outgoings (including new acquisitions, photography, and web hosting). Learning how to share our collections to help inspire and increase knowledge is something that we’ve mostly been doing so far by drawing on our own experiences of other museums and then thinking “what would I like to see on the Unde ..read more

Clothing and textile archives are fascinating places. Although, as a fashion historian, you might expect me to visit archives as part of my research, they’re also very useful places for designers to look for inspiration. Even more so now that many museums have extensive online catalogues with images, available from anywhere in the world! But it’s not always easy to know how to make best use out of these resources; when faced with a massive online archive and an empty sketchpad, where do you even begin? For the last two years, researchers at London College of Fashion (UAL) have been working wit ..read more

Another installment in our blog series ‘Favourite Things’, where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today’s selection comes from  Maude Nibelungen, a knitwear designer whose creations blur the boundries between outerwear and underwear. The brand’s ‘Alice’ set is part of the museum collection.  Maude’s pick is the Monowire Heart Padding & Lace Bra By Belligne. Monowire heart padded lace bra by Belligne, c. 1950s The Underpinnings Museum shot by Tigz Rice Studios 2017 I was scrolling through the numerous and most gorgeous ite ..read more