SHAPE is dedicated to providing comfortable, high-quality innerwear and lingerie for all body types and promoting body positivity worldwide. Founded by Monoshita Ayruani, the brand has been built out of the desire to provide a wide range of options for South Asian women. In a conversation, Monoshita Ayruani, Founder and Tahsin Habib, Brand Manager at SHAPE Lingerie, elaborate on their business, its values, and the industry’s future.
SHAPE is dedicated to providing comfortable, high-quality innerwear and lingerie for all body types and promoting body positivity worldwide. Founded by Monoshita Ayruani, the brand has been built out of the desire to provide a wide range of options for South Asian women. In a conversation, Monoshita Ayruani, Founder and Tahsin Habib, Brand Manager at SHAPE Lingerie, elaborate on their business, its values, and the industry’s future.Socially, women in our society were not expected to communicate or publicly assert their preferences over inner-wear. Do you believe it’s beginning to change due to the presence of digital spaces?
Tahsin Habib: Women are now communicating their thoughts regarding inner-wear, period, and abuse. Previously, due to lack of safe spaces, women could rarely share their thoughts and concerns about ‘taboo’ topics such as these. However, these days are many organisations, pages, and groups that caters these conversations and serve as a platform for women to share their stories. SHAPE also has a group that gives women a safe platform to talk about issues related to inner-wear, period, or anything in general.
How did the idea of a lingerie and innerwear brand begin to materialise? Why do you believe it’s necessary to have an intimate clothing line that caters to South Asian women?
Monoshita Ayruani: I started off as a frustrated customer. What ticked me off was that even after being an average-sized Bangladeshi woman, I found it very challenging to buy innerwear of my choice. Besides, the sizes which are available often often tend not to be of the appropriate size. I wanted to do something about it, and eventually, I did.
The simple answer to cater to South-Asian women is that there is a lot of opportunity in the segment that no one is exploring. The understanding of the bra comes from a very westernised perspective.
SHAPE HAS RECEIVED 2 AWARDS FOR THEIR BODY POSITIVITY CAMPAIGN AT THE COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS 2021 BY BANGLADESH BRAND FORUM.
Hence, the bras made in our country’s manufacturing industries are as per the requirements of Western body standards, which is not the same as South Asian body types. As we began working on this project, we learned that the South Asian body types have heavier chests and their shoulders are not as broad as their western counterparts. So naturally, the bras made based on Western standards are not going to fit us perfectly. There are only a few brands that cater to inner-garments manufacturing as per South Asian body types.
I believe that SHAPE stands out as a prominent brand that adheres to the South Asian body types and makes bras which are comfortable to wear.
What are the core values of SHAPE? How do you draw the line between comfort and aesthetics?
What are the core values of SHAPE? How do you draw the line between comfort and aesthetics?Monoshita Ayruani: SHAPE’S core value revolves around body positivity and accepting women as they are. It’s about accepting ourselves in our own skin, fat, and marks. Subsequently, SHAPE is inclusive to of all body types and sizes. Although we started out with only four sizes, we soon expanded our sizes as much as possible. Whether or not a person is petite or of plus size, we never want to make them feel left out.
Currently, we are working with more than 30 sizes and yet I feel that we are still not done. We will continue to expand our ranges of size and make them inclusive for every woman. Finally, comfort is our priority, which is where we draw the line between comfort and aesthetics. We design our product by giving 100% attention to comfort, then we work on the aesthetics.
What range of products are you currently offering? What are some of the customer favourites?
Tahsin Habib: We have bras that cater to two different body preferences and body sizes, some specifically to 2+ size women and some to leaner size, and then there is the mix of both. However, other ranges of products products, such as panties, slipper-range and swimsuits are also available in SHAPE.
I BELIEVE THAT SHAPE STANDS OUT AS A PROMINENT BRAND THAT ADHERES TO THE SOUTH ASIAN BODY TYPES AND MAKES BRAS WHICH ARE COMFORTABLE TO WEAR
In terms of customer preference, the bestseller has been the Signature Seamless Bra. It has been the first go-to product for all the customers in SHAPE. It is a product that was necessary for women to understand and have. They are comfortable to wear under all sorts of clothing.
SHAPE and SHAPE Cosmetics are exclusively online brands. How do the dynamics of e-commerce serve SHAPE and its customers? Are there any challenges?
Monoshita Ayruani: SHAPE is entirely an online-based entity. Previously, the dynamics of the e-commerce platforms were very linear. People did not prefer to adapt much to it. However, the pandemic has changed the scenario completely. People had to swiftly adapt to online shopping, be it for groceries, daily necessities, or clothing. So I guess that worked in our favour of e-commerce in general. For particularly SHAPE, the pandemic has made it a little easy for SHAPE, as we have been just riding the tide when people started adapting to online shopping.
SHAPE ALSO HAS A GROUP THAT GIVES WOMEN A SAFE PLATFORM TO TALK ABOUT ISSUES RELATED TO INNER-WEAR, PERIOD, OR ANYTHING IN GENERAL
Traditionally, the ‘touch and feel’ aspect of a bra is very important if you think about it. So people generally prefer purchasing them offline. It is a challenge for us because it is complicated to help someone trying their correct fit without seeing or feeling the product in person. But at SHAPE, we remotely provide consultancy and guidance to figure out the appropriate size for them before delivery. But if they still face any problems with the fitting, we exchange the product for the customer. Nevertheless, that happens rarely , which makes us incredibly happy and proud.
SHAPE has successfully made a positive impact in the market and has a dedicated client base in a short period. What are the future plans?
SHAPE has successfully made a positive impact in the market and has a dedicated client base in a short period. What are the future plans?Monoshita Ayruani: SHAPE turns two on September 2. In only two years, we have come a long way, but I believe we still have a much longer road ahead of us. We now have our customers primarily centred in 2-3 cities mostly. SHAPE aims to expand its reach from just these places to the entire mass population. So currently, that’s the idea. Further, we look forward to taking SHAPE beyond Bangladesh and making it global, expanding to countries like India, Indonesia, and Thailand.
THE SIMPLE ANSWER TO CATER TO SOUTH-ASIAN WOMEN IS THAT THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY IN THE SEGMENT THAT NO ONE IS EXPLORING
I feel SHAPE has the potential to take our solutions to women of other countries and make them feel comfortable too.
Tahsin Habib: We aim to make it more size-inclusive, cater to more women and more sizes, so that everybody is positive and comfortable about what inner-wear they want to wear. Other than that, we also have plans to nurture our own cosmetics brand.