Intimately, an adaptive lingerie brand designed for disabled women, announced on 1st February 2022 its launch with a $1M seed round investment led by Venrex and the first-ever investment by the British Fashion Council. Twenty-three-year-old founder Emma Butler started the brand in her Brown University dorm room to empower the more than 600 million women around the world who have a disability that affects the way that they dress with sexy, accessible, and comfortable lingerie. Additional investors include Away co-founder Steph Korey, Peanut founder and CEO Michelle Kennedy, Sarah Drinkwater on behalf of Atomico, and Alexandra Fine, founder and CEO of Dame Products.
Before Intimately, shopping for lingerie was a dehumanising experience for disabled women. Butler noticed a gap in the market when her mother was diagnosed with a chronic illness 10 years ago and was unable to find functional and fashionable clothing that she could easily put on unassisted. Options were not only limited, but adaptive intimates were marketed toward the elderly on medical websites, with full coverage and drab colours. Intimately challenges the stereotype that portrays disabled women as undesirable through a collection that uses magnets and loose grips to revolutionize the intimates industry by making fashionable and functional lingerie that anyone can put on.
“Lingerie shopping is an intimate experience that defines a woman’s femininity, personal identity, and self-assurance,” said Butler. “Everyone, including disabled women, deserve to have an empowering shopping experience. Intimately takes a wholesome approach bringing confidence to disabled women; it’s more than just a sexy bra and underwear, it’s also the unique support from a community of women who understand what you’re going through.”
The global adaptive apparel market will be worth about $400B by 2026, according to Vogue Business. Intimately targets a niche of adaptive intimates that is virtually white space, uses new technology and patents to create the complex garments, and mobilizes a community of disabled women to demand change in the fashion industry to include disabled shoppers.
“We’re incredibly proud to support Intimately with the first formal investment from the Peanut StartHer Fund,” said Michelle Kennedy. “Emma is a founder who is driven by purpose, with a goal of positively impacting the lives of women globally. Disability inclusive lingerie is just the beginning of Emma’s mission to transform the lives of women with disabilities, and we are proud to be on this journey with her.”
Steph Korey added, “When I first learned about Intimately and its strong mission, meaningful market opportunity, and visionary founder, it was clear that this was a special company, and I would be lucky to have the opportunity to become an investor. Emma’s passion is boundless and I’m excited to see where she and her team take this big opportunity from here.”
Designed from the thoughts and suggestions of disabled women from all over the world, this collection utilizes the latest fashion technology to ensure intimates are easy to put on and comfortable. Using magnets, loop grips, Velcro, and extra room in the straps, Intimately reimagines how bras and underwear have been designed for hundreds of years. This time, they allow everyone to get dressed easily.
The accessibly priced direct to consumer collection features six new original pieces including two styles of bras, two styles of underwear, and a sleep set to meet a spectrum of needs. The bras range from $55 – $58, the underwear is priced at $25, and sleepwear pieces between $25 and $30. Intimately is available on intimately.co. An app will launch later this year where disabled women will not only be able to shop but also to connect with a wider community to meet new friends and ask questions in a safe space designed specifically for them.
