Where is Your What Katie Did Lingerie and Fashion Made?
This week we're giving you a glimpse behind the seams and going into detail about where we manufacture and why.
Our main lingerie factory is based in India and we've been working with them since the very beginning.
If you've been following us for many years you will have read various other articles about our India factory, but this time around we have a movie! Look closely and you might even recognise some of our team, as a few of them have been making your lingerie for nearly 20 years now!
This week we're giving you a glimpse behind the seams and going into detail about where we manufacture and why.
If you're new to retro style hosiery, or hosiery of any kind, then the terminology can be confusing - but help is at hand!
Check out our guide to hosiery and all will be revealed.
Manufacturing Lingerie In The UK
We make our Liz Lingerie, Trixie Girdles plus Fully Fashioned and RHT nylons in the UK, but this is the first time I've actually sat down and talked about the state of lingerie manufacturing in England. It's not good.
Since the big brands moved to manufacture overseas both the skills and machinery have been lost. While there is a little hope for clothing manufacturing in the UK, lingerie manufacturing is so specialist I'm extremely doubtful that it will make a comeback in England.
We make our Liz Lingerie, Dixie Girdles plus Fully Fashioned and RHT nylons in the UK, but this is the first time I've actually sat down and talked about the state of lingerie manufacturing in England. It's not good.
If you're new to retro style hosiery, or hosiery of any kind, then the terminology can be confusing - but help is at hand!
Check out our guide to hosiery and all will be revealed.
How Your Bra is Made
Glamour Bra Being Made
Glamour Bra Pieces
The finished Bra
As a tiny brand, you can actually talk to, we've been quizzed over the years by people asking why we don't make more in the UK. But why we don't doesn't make us the 'bad' guys and it all really started before What Katie Did existed.
Let's use Marks and Spencers as an example. In 1979, 90% of their clothing was made in the UK, by 1999 it was down to 50% and now there's no data at all! In 2013 they released a heritage 'Made in England' luxury line but since then, it's gone quiet.
Marks and Spencer should not be cast as the bad guys either, as they were the one of the last to support manufacturing in England.
For example, in 1995, 78% of their clothing was made in the UK while in comparison their competitors only made 14% of their clothing in England.
However, it has to be said that when M&S moved their manufacturing offshore, it really was the last nail in the coffin for mainstream manufacturing in the UK.
Over the last few years there has been a rise in fast fashion manufacturing. Cheap internet fashion brands have turned to UK clothing factories due to the fast turnaround. How do they manage to sell things so cheaply? Find out below.
How is Fast Fashion Made so Cheaply?
Over the years Katie has spent a lot of downtime in India chatting about manufacturing, both at our factory and with other local factories that make for faster fashion brand. Here, she discusses the pressure factories are placed under when it comes to pricing and turnaround times.
This week we're giving you a glimpse behind the seams and going into detail about where we manufacture and why.
If you're new to retro style hosiery, or hosiery of any kind, then the terminology can be confusing - but help is at hand!
Check out our guide to hosiery and all will be revealed.
Online fast fashion companies in the UK make most of their products in or around Leicester, and every couple of years there is a media expose on their manufacturing policies.
In 2021, there seemed to be some improvement with fast fashion manufacturing but only time will tell if conditions improve for machinists.
We make our Liz Lingerie, Dixie Girdles plus Fully Fashioned and RHT nylons in the UK, but this is the first time I've actually sat down and talked about the state of lingerie manufacturing in England. It's not good.
If you're new to retro style hosiery, or hosiery of any kind, then the terminology can be confusing - but help is at hand!
Check out our guide to hosiery and all will be revealed.
