The Lingerie Industry's Journey to Embracing All Bodies
(This post was originally published on March 14th 2021 and updated on May 25th 2023)
For far too long, the lingerie industry promoted a narrow beauty ideal that made many women feel inadequate. Advertising predominantly featured thin, young, white models who barely represented the diversity of real communities, and this restrictive standard often damaged self-esteem.
Fortunately, social media gave consumers a platform to demand change. The body positivity movement blossomed as women called for more inclusive, empowering representation, and lingerie brands faced growing pressure to expand their offering.
Image: Anete Lusina
The Industry Shifts Towards Inclusivity
In response, brands have started making important changes:
- Hiring models of all sizes, ages, ethnicities, and abilities
- Expanding size ranges to be more inclusive
- Using unretouched photos that celebrate natural beauty
- Focusing on confidence and self-love over sex appeal
This shift aims to help women finally feel seen, respected, and comfortable in their own skin. Lingerie has begun to transform from objectifying to uplifting.
The Historical Evolution of Lingerie
For centuries, restrictive corsets defined women's undergarments, until the pioneer Lucile Duff-Gordon introduced lightweight, liberating designs in the late 1800s. Throughout the early 1900s, lingerie remained focused on altering body shape and serving practical purposes like hygiene and modesty rather than comfort.
Advertising from the 1920s through the 1960s shifted emphasis to breasts and hips, but the 1970s marked a dramatic change when lingerie began being marketed explicitly for sex appeal. While this sparked innovation, it also intensified the objectification of women and established unattainable ideals that persisted until the early 2000s, when social media enabled the rise of the body positivity movement.
The industry could no longer ignore the call for inclusive, empowering lingerie. Brands today are finally embracing diversity and self-confidence, though there remains progress to be made across all dimensions of representation — including age, ability, and the full spectrum of body types.
Image: Anete Lusina
Olyinka Lingerie Leads the Way
Among the brands responding to this call for change is Olyinka Lingerie, which has placed body positivity at the heart of its mission. From its conception, Olyinka was designed to challenge the over-sexualisation prevalent in the industry, while producing beautiful lingerie that accentuates, flatters, and beautifies women of all shapes and sizes.
To support this vision we launched Olyinka Magazine, a digital magazine promoting body positivity, confidence, and self-esteem. Our social media and articles provide inspiration to help women on their journey to confidence and self-love. We firmly believe that women should be celebrated and honoured rather than objectified.
Join the Movement
While the lingerie industry has made significant progress, there is still much work to be done. We invite you to join the movement and be part of creating a world where bodies of all shapes, sizes, and colours are celebrated — a world where lingerie makes every woman feel confident and empowered.
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