It is with great regret that Underlines marks the passing of Malcolm Vagg on Sunday 6th February 2022. Malcolm was an industry veteran but had the good sense to step back to enjoy his retirement with his wife, Sue. Never one for fuss, we wanted just a few of those who knew him to pay their respects and admiration for a unique person and a true gentleman. What comes across is that Malcolm was a man universally admired, liked and respected and made an indelible impression on anyone and everyone he met.
Malcolm with Daniel Spaniel
“I first met Malcolm in the late 1980’s when we launched Underlines Magazine. As a new Editor (naïve, uninformed and pretty inexperienced) Malcolm was one of the very few people in the industry who always made time for me. Malcolm was a man who despite being a senior figure in an international company had not a shred of arrogance, displayed huge integrity and was a gentleman in every aspect of his business and personal life. Not only was Malcolm the ultimate professional, he was a forward thinker, passionate about Triumph, hugely knowledgeable about the products and a great motivator to all that knew him – and lest we forget, he did it all with a great sense of humour and joie de vivre. I would say he was truly unique. Here we publish just a few comments from colleagues and friends…apologies to those friends and colleagues I was not able to reach.” Pamela Scott
“It is difficult to say in only a few words what Malcolm meant to me. First and foremost a gentleman in every sense of the word. Quiet, private and caring. All of us past and present at Triumph will miss him so very much.” Peter Hazlehurst
“Malcolm came from the era of gentlemen salesmen. The working partnership with his customers was of the utmost importance. His style was honest, respectful and elegant. His era was, also, one of hard work followed by fun time. Meals at the Harrogate Fair, the Contour Ball at the Savoy, etc. So glad I knew and worked with him. Condolences to Sue, who was very much part of those times.” Maureen Pimley
“I had the honour of working with Malcolm when I joined Triumph after graduation and he took me under his wing…many years of happiness followed with wonderful memories. I remember the hours we would spend reviewing advertising concepts and I would ask him again and again ‘how do you know that’s the one?’ and he’s always say ‘it comes with experience, you’ve a lot to learn’ but outside of the years of experience he showed me what makes the difference, it was the passion he had for the industry, the people and product.
Working on the fashion shows during lingerie week, Malcolm would set such high standards, he would watch the rehearsals with an eagle eye and I remember holding my breath to see if they would pass muster, and then that wonderful bright smile would appear and we knew then we’d reached his standards.
Often people ask me about my work ethic, and I always tell them I had the best teacher ever, Malcolm had a huge influence on me, both professionally and personally – he was such a caring and warm person, always looking after me and I will never forget that. He was my hero and he is irreplaceable.” Purminder (Mindy) Mondair
“I was very lucky to succeed Malcolm as Head of Sales and Marketing at Triumph. I was even more fortunate to work alongside Malcolm for six months as part of the handover and it was a most enjoyable few months. Malcolm made sure that I settled in very quickly and was so free with good advice and was very happy to impart knowledge of the industry and the great company. He made me feel at home immediately. Whilst being introduced to all his contacts, it was very obvious how much he was liked and how much he was held in high esteem in the industry. An additional quality was that he had developed such a good sales and marketing team which also showed how good a manager of people he was. He was a very hard man to follow but he made it as easy as he could. To this day, I appreciate all the support he gave me.” Tony Jarvis
“My career began at Triumph in 1988 following a final interview with Malcolm who promised to let me know by the Friday if I had got the job. Come Friday my daughter shouted… Daddy, there’s a posh man on the phone which is how I found out I was the North East representative for Triumph! By 1994 I moved South and had more regular contact with Malcolm and really began to see first-hand his qualities in dealing with people, colleagues and customers. He had a great presence with wonderful presentational skills – passionate about the Triumph brand – but also keen to listen and understand everyone’s ideas or indeed criticisms. He was responsible for a number of firsts – introducing fashion shows during Lingerie Week being just one and of course he took his commitment to the wider lingerie community very seriously via his involvement with The Contour Ball…what can I say, a true gentleman.” Graham Coffer
“I have such wonderful memories of working with him – he was just a gorgeous person to work with and he taught me so much. A real gentleman.” Monica Harrington
“I sadly had very limited experience of Malcolm in his professional capacity with Triumph, apart from a very memorable dinner in Harrogate following the show. Sue, of course, worked with DMU over a number of years with the Triumph Inspiration Awards, and latterly, both were very stalwart sponsors of the London Catwalk Show for De Montfort 3rd year graduates on the Contour Fashion Course.
I am however, delighted to have shared wonderful sunny times with them both picnicking by their beach hut at Seaton in Devon, alongside Malcolm’s ever present and faithful companion ‘Daniel the Spaniel’, watching the ebb and flow of the tide, enjoying the sunshine and talking industry developments. Malcolm was the quintessential gentleman. Polite, courteous, with a twinkling eye and rapier sense of humour. He is an enormous loss.” Gillian Proctor
“I’ve known Malcolm for a very long time through my employment with Triumph and beyond. In fact both started there around the same time in late 1968, and right from the start we all knew that Malcolm was the special one as he rose through the ranks quite fast.
He was professional and ambitious but at the same time the perfect gentleman, always modest, unassuming and never liked any fuss… Sometimes I thought maybe too modest for his own good…. He gave his whole working life and career to just one company… Thus all his good traits were soon recognized and appreciated by top management in Triumph including the owners in Germany.
Even after I had left Triumph we would stay in touch. At the many fairs and exhibitions Malcolm would always call on my stand and enquire how I was and how things were going. This I did appreciate very much…I shall miss him and always remember him fondly.” Helmut Lenz
