Hi, my name is Jemima and I am the founder of ELAN Lingerie.
In July 2016 my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was an incredibly hard time for us as a family and her treatment was incredibly tough on her. My mum underwent a mastectomy, lymph clearance, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and then an oophorectomy, as her cancer was oestrogen+, all within a space of a year and a half. It was life changing for her and as a daughter I did everything I could to support and care for her during this incredibly challenging time.
It wasn’t until after her mastectomy that we embarked on a shopping trip to buy some new bras. We assumed, naively, that this would be a simple process as had buying bras been before her surgery. Unfortunately, our eyes were opened to the lack of choice on offer for women who still want to feel good after their mastectomy! The online offer wasn’t much cop either…so that’s where ELAN began.
ELAN believes that every woman should have choice in her underwear. Here at ELAN we offer lingerie that does not look like your standard mastectomy bra. They’re beautiful, pretty and super comfy! Using my personal experience and knowledge, we put the customer at the centre of everything we do. At ELAN we strive to create a sense of community through our personal touches and attention to detail in all of our products, packaging and messaging. We want to empower women and help them feel amazing again.
I worked, for 2 years, as a bra fitter for House of Fraser and have recently completed an advanced bra fit course qualifying me to fit women post-surgery. I have a background in fashion after studying this for 5 years so ELAN has been such a rewarding and exciting challenge for me.
The bras themselves have been in development for a number of months and I have an incredibly talented team behind me, guiding and advising. The team have an incredible knowledge of lingerie production working for brands such as M&S, Freya, Myla and Agent Provocateur to name a few.
I have worked tirelessly to create lingerie that is comfortable and beautiful. I believe this has been achieved through the use of bamboo in all of the styles. The bamboo is very silky to the touch and is smooth and soft next to the skin. It’s breathable and cooling which for some women, who are suffering from medically induced menopause due to their cancer treatment, this will be a life saver! I have considered seam placement and taken great care into selecting little details that make these bras so special.
The products will be launching in Spring 2021 with a wonderful selection of styles for the first collection. It won’t stop there however as I will be working to developing new ranges and styles as soon as we launch!
As the founder, I want to bring you a one stop shop for beautiful post-surgery bras that make you feel special! ELAN truly comes from my heart and my wonderful mother is at the centre of everything I create for ELAN.
Website: www.elanlingerie.co.uk
Instagram: @elanlingerie
Facebook: @elanpostsurgery
