Late on Saturday afternoon, I visited Maison Triumph on Monmouth Street in London. Based in Seven Dials, near Covent Garden, this is more than just a pop-up shop for the lingerie giant. As well as stocking some of the highlights from Triumph’s current collections, this is a place where you can… learn about the history of the brand, discover the differences between various types of bras, look at the components that go into a typical bra, see vintage Triumph pieces from the company’s archive, discover exciting new creative female talent, and learn new skills in their free workshops. As you can imagine, heading here was always going to be rather exciting for me! As you can see from the photo on the right, the ceiling of the pop-up is decorated with paper pattern pieces, and there are props all over the place that will make anyone who’s ever made a piece of clothing squeal with delight. They really have gone to town with every aspect of this venture.
The shop is gorgeous, and the friendly helpful staff encourage you to take your time and browse. They stock the beautifully made Triumph Essence luxury collection (see left), a range designed by Helena Christensen, pretty lacy shapewear, and the fuller cup range Beauty-Full. I decided to try out their fitting service and was attended to by the lovely Louise who measure my underbust, looked at the fit of the bra I was already wearing and then (as it fitted rather well) fetched me a style that I said I liked in the size I was currently wearing (32E). The smooth moulded plunge style she returned with was beautifully soft and comfortable but, sadly, the cups were a bit too small for me. As that style wasn’t in stock in a 32F, Louise returned to the fitting room with a handful of other styles for me to try in what appeared to definitely be my Triumph size. I tried the pretty Twist style in a colour that’s not available online (see the set third from the left in this photo), the super comfy Amourette in stretchy black lace, and fell in love with one of their Beauty-Full Basics.
In addition to this, Maison Triumph is also a hub for the creative initiative Supporting Women in Making. In association with Stylist magazine, Triumph is running a competition for women to win £10,000 towards their business, plus mentoring from their celebrity makers collective which includes Paloma Faith and Gizzi Erskine. Rarely Wears Lipstick favourite Karolina Laskowska is in the running for the prize, so please go and cast your vote!
Supporting Women in Making is a platform for women set up to champion female makers across a variety of creative disciplines from jewellery making, fashion design, footwear, food mosaics, millinery, art illustration and everything in between.
Downstairs at Maison Triumph you’ll find a small exhibition space dedicated to ‘The Makers Atelier’, which is a group of inspiring creative women who all spend their time making something interesting. You can turn your hand to making something too, as the basement also contains a workshop space where you can learn jewellery design, mosaics, millinery, leather craft, painting or chocolate making between now and December. The best part is… all these workshops are free! Check out their Facebook page for more details.
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