Push-Up Bra Construction

Each era on this site has its own way of shaping the bust, from the 1930s cup-sized bra to the 1950s bullet bra and the 1970s sports bra. The 1990s shape was the push-up: a bust lifted and pressed together to create cleavage. The garment behind it was the Wonderbra.

A push-up bra is an engineering problem, and its construction is quite specific. The cups are cut lower and angled, rather than rounded, and they're usually made from several pieces. Inside, they have padding - removable pads, called "cookies," or pads built into the cups - that's thicker at the bottom and outer sides, so it pushes the breast upward and toward the centre. Underwires give the base of each cup a firm, supporting frame. The centre front, or gore, is narrow and low, so the cups can sit close together, and the straps are often set wider apart. Together, these features lift the bust and create a deep neckline, which is exactly what the style was designed to do.

The Wonderbra itself was older than people realise. It was a brand of the Canadian lingerie company Canadelle, and the push-up design most associated with it was developed there in the 1960s by the designer Louise Poirier. It sold well in Canada and, under licence to Gossard, in Britain for decades without much fanfare.

The 1990s transformed it. In 1994, a British advertising campaign showed the Czech model Eva Herzigová looking down at her cleavage in a black Wonderbra, with the words "Hello Boys." The billboards became famous - reportedly causing drivers to stop and stare - and sales boomed. The same year, the Wonderbra was relaunched in the United States with huge publicity. Other lingerie brands quickly launched their own push-up bras.

I find the Wonderbra's success interesting because it happened at the same time as the waif and minimalist looks, which were all about slimness and simplicity. The push-up showed that the curvy, glamorous side of fashion - the side of the supermodels, Versace, and the bandage dress - was alive and well. The 1990s had room for both ideals, and the construction of this one small garment shaped a whole era's necklines.