Lejaby
Lejaby is a lingerie design and manufacturing company based in Lyon, France. Lejaby's history
is a long one, their experience is inherent and their creativity profound. Lejaby's lingerie is
half functional, comfortable and invisible, and half extravagant, glorious and elegant. What
follows is a little information about Lejaby, their most famous styles, and how they've secured
their place as a powerhouse of lingerie design.
Lejaby's History
Lejaby was created in a small town in Eastern France called Bellegarde sur Valserine.
'Bellegarde' can be translated to something with a sense like 'protector of beauty', and the name
suits it judging by the stunning underwear produced by Lejaby. The company started back in 1931,
providing functional underwear to the French privileged classes. 20 years after its inception,
Lejaby had already become successful enough to work in partnership with the manufacturers of
Nylon, and it was Lejaby who first produced Nylon lace underwear in the early 50s. The new
material allowed new elegant styles and shapes to be developed while retaining a sense of function
and comfort, a sense which this pioneering lingerie company would retain throughout its
history.
1961 saw the introduction of Lycra to the commercial world. Lejaby was the first lingerie
manufacturer to see the potential for Lycra and used its powerful place in the market to
negotiate an exclusive deal with Lycra. The combination of Lycra in Lejaby's lingerie led to the
creation of one of the world's most popular lingerie ranges, the Miss Top range. More than three
million items were sold from this range, and it's now recognised as one of the most popular and
revolutionary ranges in the history of lingerie fashion
The seventies saw Lejaby produce consistently wonderful underwear, year after year, season
after season. Lejaby began experimenting with the combination of colours, maturing into a more
adventurous, more sophisticated underwear design house. The female liberation movement inspired
Lejaby to produce the Liberty range; the colours and comfort of the Liberty range proved a real
success and inspired other lingerie designers and fashion houses - particularly in France - to
follow suit.
Bon Anniversaire!
In 1981 Lejaby turned 50 years old, and celebrated its anniversary with the Jubile range. The
Jubile was a groundbreaking red lace design, a design which would be much imitated over the
following years, but none of the pretenders would ever have the elegance of the original
pioneering Lejaby lingerie. Later in that same decade, while the quality of products in every
other imaginable market was being forced down by the obsessive budget-slashing of eighties
management types, Lejaby lingerie continued to be produced to the highest quality, and their
manufacturing techniques and materials were supreme.
1995 brought a new owner to Lejaby when its brand quality and business potential was recognised
by the Warnaco Group, an American fashion company which co-owned giant designer clothing companies
like Calvin Klein, Rasurel and Speedo. Just a few years later, Lejaby was contributing to
revenues in excess of $1.4 billion dollars for Warnaco. Now Lejaby had the financial backing with
which to reinforce their industry experience, which meant that it could afford to be a little more
daring. A new range was launched, a range which echoed the success of the Miss Top range thirty
years before it; the Lejaby Nuage range. A second-skin style of lingerie, the Nuage range sold ten
million items over the course of ten years. The Nuage is virtually invisible, and Lejaby
continued this theme of subtlety and secrecy through several of its other styles. Notably, 1999
saw the release of Lejaby's ultra-flat seams which were unnoticeable under most fabrics. These
are now the biggest sellers in their range and they've proved to be inspirations for large
sections of the lingerie industry.
No sooner had the new millennium rolled around than Lejaby begun pushing the envelope of
lingerie design. Foreseeing the boom in the popularity of tattooes, Lejaby led the field in the
development of tattoo-effect lingerie and second-skin technology along with tweed-style underwear
and strong, geometric patterns.
Where are they Now?
Today, you can find Lejaby underwear in over 13,500 shops worldwide, combining traditional
skill, long industry experience, strong identity and, since 1995, financial power. In early 2008,
the Warnaco Group agreed the sale of Lejaby to a German-based underwear specialist Palmers Textil
for a colossal $47 million, reflecting the faith the fashion industry has in this inventive
company. Lejaby continues to be based in Lyon, France, and uses the same employees and production
techniques it always has.
In terms of current Lejaby lingerie design - and the designs of Lejaby lingerie of the near
future - they are divided into two clear divisions, the Nuage by Lejaby and the Lejaby fashion
ranges. The new Lejaby Nuage range draws on the foundation of the success brought by the original
Nuage range, and features the same invisible properties which made it famous. Lejaby's fashion
ranges encompass the more audacious designs, the designs which push the boundaries of contemporary
underwear wisdom.
The sizes range from 32A to 36E, and some collections include styles available in 30 back
sizes. Although Lejaby does not currently produce fuller cup sizes, its sister brand - Elixir - is
an exciting new addition for sizes up to the H cup.