XLuxury lingerie… by design Karl Conzelmann

LUXURY LINGERIE… BY DESIGN

Karl Conzelmann is a market leading European fashion house. It is famous for its Nina Von C brand that dominates the luxury lingerie and women’s underwear markets. Founded almost 100 years ago, the company remains at the forefront of designer fashion appeal, thanks to its chic collections and use of unusual, high quality fabrics. Philip Yorke reports.

The Karl Conzelmann company was founded by Karl Conzelmann and his wife Emilie in Germany in 1920. Initially, the company designed and produced general underwear for women, men and children. However, in 1978, the brand Nina Von C was introduced. This proved to be a great success. In the space of just a few years, this brand was seen internationally to epitomise women’s high-quality luxury lingerie. Nina Von C is the flagship brand of the lingerie specialist Karl Conzelmann GmbH & Co. KG based in Albstadt in Germany.

Under the Nina Von C brand, the company offers luxurious women’s lingerie at attractive prices and with a broad range of sizes and designs. The focus of the brand today is on sensual,

natural and feminine designs for the modern woman. In addition, emphasis is placed on high quality workmanship and an excellent individual fit.

Today, Karl Conzelmann GmbH remains an independent family business and its Nina Von C lingerie and underwear brands are designed and manufactured at locations in Germany as well as in Portugal and Romania. The company’s famous fashion collections are distributed worldwide.

In addition to its global Nina Von C brand, Karl Conzelmann GmbH & Co. KG has also been producing and distributing the well-known underwear brand Bruno Banani since the autumn of 2009. The senior design house and parent company of Karl Conzelmann is Karl Conzelmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft GmbH. This most entrepreneurial family of businesses includes not only Karl Conzelmann GmbH & Co, but also Viania Dessous GmbH and Gebrüder Conzelmann GmbH & Co. KG, this is the producer of classic and commercial daywear for women, men and children under the label ‘Con-ta’.

Accentuating natural beauty

Currently Karl Conzelmann is well placed to take advantage of the strong growth in the global market for luxury lingerie and women’s underwear. In 2019, the global lingerie market has been valued at around USD 30 billion, and this is expected to increase by around 10 per cent by the year 2025. Increasing awareness about the best possible fit and rise in spending power among women are expected to drive the market forward over the next five to ten years.

Nina Von C has focused on providing a broad range of products in multiple designs for various markets including those such as sports, bridal wear, and regular wear. Growing popularity of perfect fitting

and sensual collections is attributed to an increasing need among women to accentuate their natural beauty. In addition, the clever use of flexible fabrics used in lingerie today is another factor that is helping to drive the market forward.

The increasing global demand for modern fabrics, as well as for traditional fabrics such as nylon, polyester, satin, lace, sheer, lycra, silk, and cotton is also making a difference to the sector’s growth potential. Lingerie designers at Nina Von C are focused on creating products with lace, embroidery, and luxurious materials with brighter hues, which are expected to increase in popularity in the foreseeable future.

Interestingly, it would appear that consumers today are more inclined towards underwear in subtler colours, fabrics, and styles, which is encouraging Nina Von C to introduce trendy lingerie that meets a host of new preferences for sportswear, evening wear, bridal wear and beachwear.

Focus on fit and comfort

Currently the brassiere market represents more than 50 per cent of global women’s underwear sales, which is also reflected in the sales of Nina Von C underwear collections. Availability of a diverse range of fabrics and continuous advances in technology have provided Nina Von C designers with an opportunity to make stylish innovative products and maintain their dominant position in the market. Innovations such as laser cut seamless brasseries are now easily accessible in a wide range of styles and sizes. Today, companies are using fabrics with elastic laces, pleated polyester, tulle, and micro fibres for the creative design of lingerie.

The women’s underwear sector is also expected to expand at the fastest rate of all underwear garments. Manufacturers like Nina Von C are focusing on offering products made of comfortable fabrics such as cotton and nylon, designed with various styles of hipsters, shorts, and full briefs. This, in turn, has increased the availability options for consumers, thereby fuelling growth further. Many designer companies are coming up with special kinds of women’s underwear such as jacquard and lace designs, no VPL (visible panty lines) lace trim, and high-waisted control to provide greater comfort and flexibility.

The future for Karl Conzelmann looks positive indeed for its Nina Von C brands and its sister European companies. For further details of Nina Von C products and services visit: www.ninavonc.de n