The Guardian racconta il lungo successo della maison di lingerie Cadolle, che ha avuto inizio nel 1889, quando Herminie Cadolle creò il primo reggiseno.

Oggi, il marchio è ancora gestito dalla famiglia a Parigi, con Poupie Cadolle e sua figlia Patricia al timone. La boutique è rinomata per i suoi corsetti su misura e ha clienti famose come Beyoncé e Lady Gaga

Down a passageway on the Rue Saint-Honoré, in Paris, sandwiched between the startling glamour of Chanel and Saint Laurent, there is a glass door stuck with peeling photographs that make up the Cadolle family tree. This family business has been making corsets since the late 1800s, with current clients including designers such as John Galliano (who hired them to make corsets for his Maison Margiela Artisanal couture show) and stars such as Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

Herminie Cadolle ha brevettato il primo reggiseno nel 1889, presentandolo alla Fiera di Parigi. Poupie Cadolle ha invece appreso l’arte della corsetteria da sua madre ed è nota per i suoi reggiseni su misura, che possono costare fino a 900 euro. La famiglia Cadolle si concentra sui materiali e sulle tradizioni artigianali, adattando i suoi capi alle esigenze moderne, pur mantenendo un legame con il passato.
L’articolo spiega come la maison Cadolle sia riuscita a mantenere il proprio successo per oltre un secolo, evolvendosi con i tempi pur rimanendo fedele alle sue radici.

Much has changed, much has remained, “but the bodies are completely different today. Women have no more waists! Because women don’t wear girdles any more, so the women never trained their waistline to be thin.” She’s seen “many, many breasts and they are all so different.” When she started in the boutique, the largest size they stocked was a B cup. Today, “I have a customer with a K cup. And in a lingerie show I saw a booth doing an N cup!” She motions with her hands. Her regular customers pay from €900 for a custom bra. They fly in from the US or Middle East, and sit here in her velvet-curtained room, and tell her about their life. “I have to know who she is, how she feels about her body – sometimes she hates herself. I have to know what she needs. What they usually say they need is, ‘A good bra.’ Which means, first it looks good and second that she doesn’t need to remove it as soon as she gets home.” Downstairs, a messy atelier is lined with boxes and wooden plan chests, each containing customers’ patterns – among them, four young women chuckle and sew carefully. It’s highly technical work, despite the distractions of blue silk and slippery lace.