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Silhouette

Silhouette as a company has its origins in Cologne, Germany. In 1887, two German Jewish men, Max Lobbenberg and Emil Blumenau, founded a company to make corsets. They eventually changed the name from Lobbenburg and Blumenau to SKI CORSET.

The company flourished and grew, weathering the storms of the first World War and the Recession in the early 1930’s to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 1937. By the mid 1930’s SKI CORSET was one of the largest and most successful corsetry manufacturers in Germany, with subsidiary companies in Paris, Amsterdam, London and the U.S.A. - these all being run by members of the original two families.

1933 saw the rise of Hitler in Germany and the Jewish firm of SKI CORSET became victims of Nazi persecution. Restrictions were placed on Jewish companies. They were prevented from buying raw materials, Jewish Salesmen could not travel and heavy taxes were demanded. In 1938, the families were forced to sell their Cologne factory to a corset manufacturer from Bavaria, and in September 1938, under threat of arrest, they escaped from Germany.

The London branch of the company was opened and run by Hans Blumenau (son of the original owners) in Islington during the 1930’s and called Corset Silhouette. In 1937 Hans was approached by his partner from the Paris Office and offered the manufacturing rights on a new and revolutionary garment a ‘radio active corset’. The garment was said to have "...a stimulating, even rejuvenating influence on the cells of the human body, aid fatigue, warm the body and help rheumatic pain". A patent had already been obtained in France, backed by a certificate from The Marie Curie Institute confirming that the garment was in fact radio active. Silhouette took up the patent to manufacture the garment in England calling it the ‘Silhouette Radiante’ and it was an immediate success throughout the country.

The Company made bras and suspender belts for the W.A.F.S., A.T.S. and W.R.E.N.S. during the Second World War.

In the late 1940’s, the Company moved to Shrewsbury while retaining a London showroom. In the early sixties, Ann-Marie Lobbenberg designed the ‘Little X’ girdle and Silhouette launched a TV campaign to promote it.

Silhouette continued to develop and grow over the succeeding decades, still run by members of the original Lobbenberg and Blumenau families. By 1969, they owned five factories and employed 1,900 people. The Silhouette brand was sold in 61 countries and the firm was a large Marks and Spencer supplier. They were also the largest swimwear manufacturer in Britain. The company was particularly well known for this ‘Little X’ range of girdles as well as a stylish range of high fashion bodywear and had developed a reputation for excellent fit.

In 1979 the members of the original families running the Company were nearing retirement. Other family members who had retained an investment in Silhouette, particularly those in America, wanted to withdraw their capital so a decision was made to sell the company.

Silhouette was sold to Porsons, a large textile business based in the north of England, for £15,000,000. They acquired the company for its Marks and Spencer business and reduced their commitment to the Silhouette brand.

In 1981, the Porsons textile empire collapsed. The Receivers were called in and Silhouette was sold to Courtaulds for £400,000. Courtaulds already owned several bodywear companies, including Gossard and Berlei. They wished to acquire only the Marks and Spencer business and sold the Silhouette brand name on to M.T.M.

M.T.M. owned Spencers in Banbury, a well established company who were particularly known for their made to measure corsetry. M.T.M. recognised that the more fashionable Silhouette brand would compliment the Spencer range. Silhouette production was transferred to Banbury.

In 1984, after Thomas Tilling, M.T.M. ‘s parent company was bought by BTR, Silhouette/Spencer underwent a management buy out. The foundations for the new Silhouette ranges were laid at this time. It was recognised that a company as small as Silhouette could not compete directly with the giants of the body fashion industry such as Triumph or Warners and a decision was made to target niche markets. This is a strategy which has benefited the company in recent years and has allowed us to build a strong reputation in such areas as maternity wear and mastectomy wear, as well as basques, strapless bras and garments with larger cup fittings.

In 1989, Silhouette was bought by Remploy and is now part of the newly formed Textile Group.

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