“I did not know what true lingerie meant until I experienced my first bra fitting session.”
As a young twenty-something in Osaka, I had no idea that underwear was something that could have such a powerful impact on women, not just physically on our bodies, but as a part of our entire sense of identity. Admittedly, Japan in the 1980s did not have such an individualist culture, where women could or should contemplate the most intimate piece of garment in their possession with such a personal sensibility. Even sizing was not up for discussion. You just wore what was available without knowing if the size was right or not. Thankfully, a change in my perception was just around the corner, albeit a far corner – across the world.
While studying abroad in the United States, I noticed that my college friend wore baggy panties one day and sexy lace thongs on another day for when she had a date; I was surprised! The fact that a woman would exercise variety in her undergarments as part of the foundation for her dressing choice was revolutionary to me at the time. Slowly, I was ushered into the concept – that people could decide upon their innerwear based on TPO (Time, Place, and Occasion)
Seeing how taken aback I was, my friend took me to an underwear shop the following week. Once again, I was amazed, but this time for personal reasons – I finally got my first “cleavage” on their first try with their professional fitters. I realized that I had been wearing the wrong Bra and size since always. That was when I noticed the knowledge gap in Asian and Western cultures on body and beauty aesthetics, and the yearning to share and apply these new findings back in my home country started to bloom.
Studying abroad was awakening. I absorbed new cultures and improved my understanding of the different facets of beauty and how it can be universal and personal. As I gained experience, my passion and interest for lingerie grew, and I was inspired to create my brand, hoping to share the same exciting revelation with women everywhere. At the time, Japan was known worldwide for precision and exquisite attention to detail across all facets of commerce. It struck me that if I could merge intricate Japanese craftsmanship with an individualistic NYC Style that was adored worldwide, I could create something special.
I started my lingerie brand, and to spread the “BRADELIS Beauty” awareness, I started my own company Gold Flag Ltd. 30 years ago in Japan. I established the lingerie brand “Bradelis New York,” incorporating New York aesthetics with Japanese innovations and craftsmanship. Bringing in the idea that everyone can enhance their beauty without sacrificing comfort, my team and I applied the ethos to combine comfort, function & style and specialize in a unique step system called “BRADELIS STEP123” for body shaping. Using specially designed technologies and fitting techniques, we have developed ways to improve concerns caused by wearing the wrong underwear, bust, and bottom.
Many women to date do not realize that they are wearing the wrong Bra. Numerous studies have informed that breast tissues have memory and can be shaped according to your daily habits. Not only does wearing the wrong bra cause discomfort, but it also misshapes your breast tissues, causing acceleration in issues such as gapping, sagging, and excess tissue bulges. If you have given birth and breastfed, I bet you will agree with me that breast shapes can change in dramatic ways. That is why the right underwear and breast maintenance habits are so important. The same idea with skincare, our breasts also need protection and care; otherwise, just like wrinkles and sagging on the face as you age, our breast shapes also distort based on the same principle when you do not apply proper care.
I believe confidence in a woman enhances her beauty, and comfort plays a substantial role in exuding confidence as we perform tasks in our daily lives. Using shaping lingerie to achieve a better fit, I hope to convince everyone that they can achieve their “ideal” body shape, bringing out their inner beauty. After years of research and experimenting, we devised a solution: Bradelis New York, the brand it stands for today– to bring out your authentic beauty.
By Integrating the concepts of foundation and decorative undergarments, my goal is to continue to create stylish and high-quality foundation garments. In the old days, foundation garments always looked like “grandma” underwear, but with Bradelis New York, we want to show our customers that women can achieve their own “ideal body” with beautiful lingerie. Hoping to recreate for others the same excitement I had experienced when I was young and discovered my ideal Bra. We constantly emphasize fitting techniques and product development to provide customers with something akin to a professional consultation experience for them to find their ideal fit.
Akiyo with her husband (left) and her twin boys
Starting a business was difficult, especially after marriage and having twins at 40 years. I had to juggle between a long-distance marriage, motherly duties, and managing and building the business. Frankly, the challenging circumstances pushed me to the limit, but even in this instance, something good came off it; the realization to balance work and family for a working woman. I had to do right by my team and build a culture that valued them as people. For the longest time, our company, which consists of 90% women, has carefully crafted policies that value women’s rights and promises that they get enough rest & recovery before returning to working with the team after pregnancy. Specifically, all our female staff members are entitled to yearlong maternity leave with benefits.
Speaking of challenges, the lingerie business has always been extremely competitive as one of the more intricate segments of the fashion industry. Facing increasing material costs, labor costs and strict quality control are only a small part of this highly specialized apparel business’s challenges. The lingerie is especially delicate in its construction and consists of many tiny parts that all play a role in providing women with comfort and sensuality. It requires real skilled craftsmanship and specialized knowledge to create the perfect Bra. Especially with lingerie being an intimate item, even a 1mm difference or a single patch of poor-quality fabric can easily compromise the fit and allure of the garment. With that in mind, the lingerie business needs to pay attention to the material selection and customers’ needs, and that too while keeping pace with the ever-changing trends. We here at Bradelis strive to do all that, too, with an added dose of Japanese culture – providing customers with the best hospitality while catering to their most basic and intimate needs and desires.
With the help of advanced technologies and modern trends, many opportunities & challenges alike have opened up for the lingerie business. Finding a bra size can now be done easily through virtual size calculators. Our in-house developed #findabetter fit quiz is a testament to this convenience, and our customers can enjoy the comfort of online shopping with a sense of ease thanks to it. However, at the same time, because functional lingerie requires certain awareness and a right fit, this challenges us to come up with creative ways of communicating with our customers. Recently we have launched an application that makes online consultations possible. This helps teach customers how to properly measure their sizes and the correct way of wearing our bras to achieve the shaping function. These enhanced services allow us to offer a personalized shopping experience from our boutiques without our customers having to be physically present, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
Due to the development of fast fashion trends and habits, people often neglect quality over price. This has allowed many new lingerie competitors to pop up while offering substandard service and products. On the bright side, emerging new brands have helped the lingerie industry raise customer awareness and interest, marking a steady growth for the lingerie section in market share. Lingerie is no longer only used as just inner clothing. Still, it has grown with diversified categories such as shapewear, sports, wireless, maternity, and sleepwear, just a few of the subcategories. Also, with the recent covid-19 pandemic enforcing a lifestyle change upon all of us, online shopping has become more frequent and accessible, thus creating more opportunities for online branding and innovative new ways to communicate with customers, both old and new. A new brand can easily gain thousands of followers instantly with the right viral strategy and offering, compared to the old ways of promotion where the trend had already passed when the brand or product was discovered.
In summary, starting a business is never easy, but if you have an unyielding passion for it, the journey is certainly worth it. I am so grateful for my loving family, who supported me all along, my company staff, who endured hardships with me, and most importantly, our loyal customers, who have always been our pillars of motivation.
I believe the most important mindset in maintaining a business is to stand firm with your business goals and always be willing to embrace new challenges. Our brand’s primary mission has always been “to share happiness by giving.” With positive thinking come positive outcomes. I believe that when your business holds good intentions and if everyone involved acts genuinely based on that, it will ultimately turn into a good business.
