Triumph: 125 years celebrated with tomorrow's designers

Triumph is celebrating 125 years of « corsetterie ». The anniversary is quite discreet, yet, it bets on the T.I.A. – the Triumph Inspiration Award – a competition in which the brand has cleverly woven links with the great fashion designers-to-be.

A “Success Story”, such is the headline of one of the site pages. Indeed, we can talk about a Success Story for this lingerie brand. A corset-maker and a retailer founded the original company, with 6 sewing machines and 6 employees, in a barn in Germany in 1886. They soon employ 150 people. And in 1902, they name their brand Triumph, wishing to give their brand a name which would be understandable all over the world. The rumor says: they named the brand after the Arc de Triomphe. Anyway, this is the sign of the visionary nature of brand managers that last: the Parisian chic, globalization… the name already includes the ingredients of its success. From technique innovations to brand purchases, Triumph is a group that counts in the lingerie world today – it is, for example, the owner of such brands as Hom, Valisère and Sloggy.

The products and collections are highlighted at present. However, there is a certain corporatism in its story telling. The exercise is actually perilous when the speech is about social or environmental commitment. Indeed, France has recently known hard times in the “corsetterie” production field; the “corsetterie” know-how seems actually to be dying on the French territory, considering the closing down of many workshops. And one can only have fake smiles when reading the self-satisfaction lines of the French subsidiary, which prides itself on the successful redeployment of the Alsatian production site, today converted into a distribution center.

But let’s go back to the celebration! As many brands defying time and markets but not willing to sink into an old-fashioned attitude, Triumph has taken the initiative in associating the brand to design and talents to-be. For the 4th year, a wide and international competition is organized with students of design and fashion schools of many countries.
For the celebration of the 125 years, Triumph has decided to enlarge the spin-offs of the competition to the public. In Paris, at the Galeries Lafayette 3rd floor entrance (the floor is mostly dedicated to lingerie), a “podium” offered a special promotion event by Triumph: exhibiting 9 busts wearing the creations of the Istituto Marangoni Paris students (who therefore represent France in the T.I.A. competition) This was also the opportunity for a game; the department store customers were asked to vote for their favorite creations; with a gift: one year free Triumph lingerie (what items exactly… no idea) and one year subscription free to Gala.