HEIST, the British DTC brand founded in 2015 to disrupt the $110B global underwear industry, has today announced the appointment of Fiona Fairhurst as VP Innovation. Fiona Fairhurst rose to fame during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as the inventor of a full bodysuit swimwear known as FASTSKIN® that used biomimetic sharkskin technology to enhance performance. Worn by swimmers from over 130 countries during the games, the swimwear set 13 out of 15 world records and contributed to 47 Olympic medals. Fiona went on to be the lead clothing consultant for the UK Sport Innovation Team for Team GB.
In her new role, Fiona will bring her expertise in high-performance sportswear to bodywear, as part of a team of best-in-class inventors and material scientists who are using customer-led insight and cutting-edge technology to create radically better underwear. The performance-wear innovator’s next challenge sees her reinvent shapewear, creating Heist bodywear for women, that is designed to move with their shape, rather than against it, unlike the market’s incumbents.
Fiona Fairhurst, VP Innovation at Heist, said: ‘This is an opportunity to turn my career learnings to date into something that helps women every day. Underwear is an under-innovated area that has not, until now, attracted the scientific attention it deserves. Together with our customers and co-conspirators, we are changing that.’
