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Back to school with Royce: A lesson in how to make a bra
Posted by Claire Boote, on September 9, 2021.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s)
Step 1
Research styles, fabrics and designs
As with any item of clothing, trends in lingerie change over the years. The Royce design team stay on top of what’s big in underwear (so to speak) so they can create lingerie that we know you’ll love. But eyes are firmly on designs that will stand the test of time, ensuring you can buy bras that you’ll want to wear season after season.
Step 2
Sketch initial concepts and discuss designs
Creating bras without underwires takes a lot of specialist design skill, because the bra pattern has to deliver all the support, uplift and shaping that is often left to underwires. In the early stages, we’ll create several design ideas to share with the team.
Quite often it’s a case of swapping around a detail or two, merging one idea with another or removing something so we’re left with a design that we know will really do the job.
Step 3
Source the best fabrics and trims
We get a real buzz from researching the best fabrics and trims. To create super comfortable and ultra-supportive bras, the right fabric is key. Whether it’s quick drying for a sports bra, durable for a maternity bra, or super soft for a post-surgery bra. All of our chosen fabrics and trims are rigorously tested to high industry standards with accredited test houses, prior to production.
We’re always on the lookout for new, innovative, sustainable fabrics to help us meet our pledge to have at least 20% of our full range made from recycled or natural and organic fabrics by 2025.
Step 4
Create a digital Pattern and grade all sizes in-house
The patterns to all of our designs are ‘drawn’ on computer nowadays allowing us to make quick and easy adjustments to size up and down – some of our designs start in an AA cup, with others needing to reach an L cup – and then we share the patterns with the manufacturer.
Step 5
Sample bra is created for testing
We take our testing seriously. If we’re creating a maternity bra, it must be trialled by pregnant and nursing women; and our post-surgery bras are only going to make the grade if we know how they wear on women post surgery. Similarly, our comfort, sports, fuller cup, and teen bras are all wear tested rigorously on real bodies too.
Once worn, sample garments are dropped in our Against Breast Cancer donation bin, while fabric off-cuts are given to a local nursery to re-use in arts and crafts.
Step 6
Final adjustments are made and perfected
Our wear testers provide invaluable feedback to our team, who can then tweak a design until it’s perfect. We also ensure the structure and fabric of the bra are fit for purpose and are able to endure regular wash & wear.
Step 7
Bra is produced in the factory
Once a design is finalised, it’s off to the factory for production. A new style can be produced in batches of around 3,000 at a time. We have good, long-standing relationships with our factories. Our design team schedule (when possible) regular visits to each factory in order to build and maintain relationships and spend time on the factory floor.
As standard the factories that we work with are accredited with a combination of SMETA and Better Work certifications which are ethical & technical audits to ensure the factories comply to social & safety responsibilities.
Step 8
Final quality checks and launch!
With our first batch of bras back from the factory, our in-house quality team will perform a final quality check. Bras that get the green light are GO! We get so excited with every new launch – you’ll hear all about it via our social media channels, e-news and website, and sometimes our new styles (like the recent Aerocool) receive glowing reviews all over the media.
Step 9
Orders placed are dispatched within 48hrs
Once you’ve read all about our brand new, beautiful bra, you’ll be able to order yours via our website (and don’t forget to book a remote fitting while you’re at it to ensure you get the perfect size). Remember, we offer free delivery for orders of £75+ with free returns. Or find it in your local stockist.
