Ladies in LINGERIE

These women have found their underwear business niche

- ADELINE IZIREN

'Bras should be inspiring'

Priya Downes, a 40-year-old former head of merchandising at Burberry, has always had a passion for business. In 2019, she launched her lingerie brand, Nudea, with Sophie Turnbull, a former head of bra innovation at Victoria's Secret. Priya lives in Buckinghamshire, with her husband Jason and their three children Jasper, seven, Rupert, five, and Penny, two.

THE IDEA

Ever since I started wearing a bra as a teenager, I had been disappointed with what was on offer. I felt uninspired when it came to shopping for something I wore every day, and saw the opportunity to leverage my skills to create truly unique lingerie that was comfortable and beautiful. I also wanted to make shopping for bras convenient, modern and inspiring.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Sophie and I had met while working together at fashion label Fiorucci. Prior to launching Nudea in 2019, we carried out pioneering size and fit research with more than 600 women in the UK via Facebook ads and our own networks. This revealed that 80% of women wear the wrong bra size because 75% haven't been fitted in more than three years, which led to us developing our own custom-fitting tools, including a trademarked Fit Tape, which is designed for accurate self-measurement at home.