Think gorgeous lingerie, and think Adina Reay. This is seriously one luxury lingerie brand to watch.
Founded in England by designer Sharon Lake, she combines beautiful and flattering silhouettes to make women feel a million dollars. Luckily then, you can shop the line at Adinareay.com, Net-a-Porter, Harvey Nichols, Bare Necessities, Journelle and a number of independent stores worldwide.
Lake tells us more about her fabulously chic firm…
When and how did your luxury lingerie brand come about?
We launched Adina Reay in 2013, born out of a desire to create lingerie in DD+ that we really wanted to wear. I had always loved lingerie, but as a DD+ from my 20’s I was frustrated with the lack of options available. Born from this frustration and disbelief, we started Adina Reay. A clear vision of what lingerie should be in larger cup sizes – to challenge existing conventions on how fuller cup lingerie could look and fit. A brand created in collaboration with a team of lingerie experts, each with decades of experience working with the U.K.s most respected brands and retailers.
What is ‘luxury’ to you?
Something that feels as great on the inside as it looks on the outside. My Dad is a tailor and so we’ve grown up with made to measure, even down to our school uniforms so to me, finish and fabrics are a focus.
What was your first bra buying experience? How has this impacted your brand?
Honestly, I can’t remember my first. On a positive note, I can remember the first piece of lingerie I fell in love with. It was a La Perla corset that my Mam and Dad bought me from a shop called Peaches and Cream in Newcastle. I wore it as outerwear to my first proper date with my husband and I still have it now. I may just get a daughter-in-law it fits.
Bra buying once I got above a DD, however, was a real problem for me. I’ve been told in fitting rooms over and over again that because of my bust size I had to have thick straps, full coverage, multiple hooks and eyes all of which I hated. It really damaged my self-esteem. Once you are told you need a solution it indicates you have a problem. I still feel quite sick when I go into lingerie departments.
This is the whole reason we started the brand and why there are no changes to strap, back or coverage between our DD and G cups. I would get so excited when I saw something in a DD and then once it got to my size it had morphed into something else completely. We design from the smallest to the largest and if the range does not work as beautifully across all sizes, the design does not go ahead.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
In the forefront of everything we do is the question, ‘would someone below a DD want to wear it?’ After that, it changes each season.
Who is the Adina Reay customer?
I met an amazing buyer who once told me that she plans her outfit around her lingerie. Adina Reay is for those of us with a full bust that would like to do the same.
Describe your brand in three words…
Contemporary, innovative, sensual.
How do you see your brand evolving in the next few years?
I’d love to develop capsule swimwear and outerwear collections, and also build a small but far-reaching network of independent retailers to work alongside.
Shop the collection on the website: adinareay.com and watch out for the brand on net-a-porter.com.