The Making of Primark’s First Adaptive Lingerie Collection

Primark has launched its first adaptive lingerie collection with the ambition of making adaptive fashion more accessible and affordable for everyone. We caught up with Heidi Williams De Rincon, Head of Buying for Lingerie at Primark, who shares the journey of developing Primark’s first adaptive lingerie collection and why adaptive clothing and inclusive design is so important on the high street.

1. As this is Primark’s first adaptive collection, co-designing with technical specialists and people who need the product was so important. Can you tell us a bit more about this and what you had to consider when creating the products?

I think we can take for granted how easy it is for some of us to get dressed. Speaking to focus groups, I learned all about how getting dressed can be extremely challenging due to the way that clothes are designed. For me, it was so important to work to provide a solution that would support disabled people, or those living with health conditions or impairments in getting dressed, or at least provide some ease of dressing.

This product took over two years to create and that is due to the valuable learnings we got from speaking to focus groups and listening to people who participated in wearer trials. For example, a lot of adaptive clothing uses Velcro closures, and we learned from focus groups that people prefer magnets in adaptive underwear as they can be more discreet and provide stronger clasps.

Functionality is one thing, but it is also so important to consider comfort. Of course, everyone wants to feel comfortable when choosing underwear, but we wanted this product to appeal to the disabled community, so we also wanted soft fabrics for anyone with sensory issues. Lingerie products are really intimate as they sit right on the skin, so fabric choice was crucial in this product.

Lastly, we wanted to create a product collection that would feel really valuable to the community. While it is four products in a range, each of them has been really considered. Adaptive clothing, or any specialised underwear collection can sometimes be quite functional, so we wanted to create a range that people would enjoy wearing because it looked good. The lace bralette, for example, is feminine and elegant, a really nice design with a plunging low cut. But some people don’t want lace underwear every day, so we also have an everyday seamless bra in the collection. With the briefs, we have an everyday seamless brief, but also a period brief, which is very popular product in our main underwear range. What often happens with specialist products is it's so technical that you can take away the aesthetic design, and we were determined to create a range that is functional, feminine and fashionable – also at Primark’s affordable price point.

Everyone should be able to buy underwear that makes them look and feel great, and I’m proud of the work that’s gone into this collection to do just that. We’ve worked to create products that combine practical features such as magnetic closures alongside beautiful feminine designs. We know there is much more we can do, but we hope this small collection will make it a little bit easier for people to access more affordable adaptive underwear on their local high street.

2. How important is it that retailers provide accessible and affordable fashion for everyone?

I think it’s absolutely crucial. We say that Primark’s for everyone, and so it is very important to us to address the needs of the disabled community. Everyone wants to look and feel good, so I am so proud that we are extending our ranges to better serve the disabled community.

It is early days yet, but we have had a really positive response from the community, and it is so heart-warming and rewarding to see. It makes the two-and half-year journey totally worth it.

3. Is anything in the pipeline for future adaptive collections?

We launched with four pieces to understand how well the collection was received. We’re so happy with the response that we are encouraged to do more in this space to better serve the disabled community.

This is a first for us and we hope to have lots of learnings from it. Beyond this product range, we’re committed to doing more and including more adaptive products and more inclusive designs across our product ranges.

4. Which product are you most proud of / is your favourite?

Of course, I love all the products, but if I had to choose my favourite, it would be the lace bralette. To be able to create a bra that’s not only functional and easier to use but also really feminine and fashionable – I am so proud of it and I hope our customers love it.

5. What did it mean to you to work on such a meaningful collection like this?

It’s been really rewarding, not just for me but for the whole team. We’ve worked really hard to create a product that will make people’s day a tiny bit easier. It has probably been one of the most rewarding projects our team has ever been involved in. What is exciting now is taking some of the customer feedback and applying these learnings to some of our future collections as we work to introduce more adaptive clothing across our ranges.