If you haven’t yet checked out Miss Vivienne online, be careful doing so in the office: this is some seriously sexy underwear. It’s also comfortable, empowering and handmade by a small team in Melrose in the Scottish Borders.
As egg welcomes Miss Vivienne as a card partner, I spoke to the original Miss V, founder and designer Vivienne Lynch about how this gorgeous underwear brand started, why good underwear matters and what it means to be sustainable and ethical in the fashion industry.
Vivienne studied fashion at Heriot Watt university but says, “when I discovered lingerie, it was a whole new world and I absolutely fell in love with it. I found this passion all of a sudden and I thought - this is what I'm excited about.” Vivienne didn’t plan to start a business, she explains: “Along with our honours collection, we had to design a brand, website and a logo, so I had all of that set up already. I also had some leftover fabric from my collection so I thought, "I'll just make a wee bralette and a pair of knickers and see if anyone wants any” The orders quickly flooded in. Initially Vivienne worked in fashion retail, going part time to grow her business. “But the energy I was putting into Miss Vivienne, I was getting straight back” she says, “it was coming back tenfold so I decided to quit my job and just go for it and it worked!”
Vivienne’s customers come from all across the world, attracted to the brand for their designs, sustainable approach, and made to measure fitting.
Vivienne and her team make bras in a wide range of sizes, but she is conscious that the fashion industry as a whole still has a huge size problem: “The fashion industry in general is really bad for promoting just one body type, but I think the lingerie industry has been even worse,” says Vivienne, “It is massively important to me to have a brand where you can stumble onto our Instagram page or website and feel represented.”
Everyone with breasts deserves to wear a brilliant, comfortable bra, but if you find buying underwear a bit nerve-wracking you’re not alone. Vivienne says: “I think women in general feel a bit nervous about buying underwear.” Vivienne says, “With being a small, approachable business, that's not a problem for us. We can chat for as long as our customer wants, we can put their mind at ease, help with sizing if needed and at the end of the day they come out with something they love. So whether you’re a high flying 40 year old with lots of cash or a student at 20 years old who just wants to treat yourself for your birthday, I think women are all on the same page when it comes to buying underwear.”
Miss Vivienne works with many women facing challenges with their bodies or going through periods of change in their lives: “I've worked with women who've been on cancer treatment and are feeling down, women who've just been divorced, or had a baby, women from every walk of life. They often feel a bit nervous to show those vulnerabilities, but once they speak to us and we're like, ‘Oh don't worry about it, nobody knows their size! Let me help you’. We can put them at ease and they become a friend rather than a customer. It’s just this safe space, a fun environment for everyone to come enjoy lingerie and feel empowered - that's all I've ever wanted to do with the brand.”
“I've just been working with a woman who had a nightmare trying to find the right mastectomy bra,” Vivienne says, “So we're sampling one for her that's just completely made to her measurements. It's really important for us to get that right for her. We've got girls with stoma bags and so we've done custom briefs with little pockets for to hold them. One recent customer had her wedding day coming up and she had boring prescription knickers from the NHS. She said, ‘I just want nice knickers for my wedding day’. So we got her sorted with a pattern and now she's got a few pairs from us. It’s so nice.”
“We do get guys too, some men that simply like wearing lingerie and some people that are transitioning, so that's fantastic. Some men can't speak to anyone else about that part of their life, but we're there and we can talk to them, it's a safe space.”
Empowering people to feel good about their bodies gives Vivienne and her team huge job satisfaction: “When I started in fashion I always compared myself to friends who are doctors, dentists and nurses and they're really helping people. I thought, I just do fashion and it's totally materialistic. What am I contributing to the world? Then I help someone and I think, no it's not materialistic, what I do is important as well. It's amazing to be able to help people.”
Sustainability is at the core of Miss Vivienne’s business model. “The fashion industry has a lot to answer for,” Vivienne says, “it's one of the biggest contributors to landfill, it’s awful.” One factor that causes waste is seasonality and quick turnover of collections. Vivienne takes a different approach: “We have some ranges that are there for ages, and then other ranges that are limited editions. So we will only buy a certain amount of fabric and that'll be it. Once it's done, it's done. We don't risk getting more and wasting more. We're lucky that lingerie doesn't have to be completely seasonal. Everyone loves black lingerie all year round, and our Ginger range has been a staple now for years.”
At Miss Vivienne, fabric waste doesn’t happen. “In terms of sustainability, the made to order model is perfect,” explains Vivienne, “We have no stock, except for photo shoot samples and exchanges - and they get sold in sample sales so we never have anything to waste.” All of the fabric is used, including tiny scraps, and the packaging is all recycled and recyclable. “We just want to make sure that every aspect of the business is ethical and sustainable,” Vivienne says, “You can't be starting a business nowadays without thinking about the impact it will have on our environment.”
Although the business is growing at speed, we won’t see Miss Vivienne swapping Melrose for a city boutique anytime soon. “I think nowadays location isn’t as relevant,” says Vivienne, “You've got a website and you've got social media. So long as you are able to give great customer service to everyone, it doesn’t matter where you are. I love living here so I don't want to be anywhere else.”
The talent pool in Scotland is another reason to stay put Vivienne says: “ I came from a uni in Scotland with so many talented creative designers. Some of them moved to London to find jobs, but many didn't want to. I know that there's talent here in Scotland. There are amazing seamstresses, there are amazing designers and social media content makers. I truly believe Scotland has it all. That’s why I believe that even as this business grows, I will be able to stay where I am and still have a wealth of talent around me to help me grow it.”
Finally, I asked Vivienne why good underwear is so important. “I think it's just about feeling good about yourself,” she says, “I always say it's the most intimate piece of apparel in your wardrobe. It's the first thing you put on in the day and it's the last thing that you take off at night. Whether you've got a date or a job interview or you're just going for a night out with your pals, whatever it is, a lovely set of lingerie can really set you up for your day. If you start the morning with nice underwear, comfortable underwear, I think that it lifts you up a bit. It’s not just about looking good, you have to feel good. Lingerie can actually do that for you. Those tiny little garments really can hold so much power!” says Vivienne.
Time to get measured? You know who to call. Miss Vivienne is offering a very special deal for egg card holders: an exclusive 10% off site wide all year round, and you can use the code as many times as you like.
https://www.missvivienne.co.uk/