Bra
1990s onward

The Wonderbra brand was acquired, in 1994, by Sara Lee Corporation and, since 2006, licensed to HanesBrands Inc and Sun Capital for different markets. It had 54 design elements, including a three-part cup, underwires, a precision-angled back, rigid straps, and removable "cookies". When the push-up plunge bra first appeared in the US market one Wonderbra sold every 15 seconds, driving a first year sale of US$120 million. The bra became one of the most complex pieces of lingerie ever created.

In 1994, supermodel Eva Herzigova 's cleavage photographed by Ellen von Unwerth for Wonderbra's controversial advertising campaign Hello Boys helped shape the ideal of women, an experience Herzigova described as "empowering". In 1999, the advertising poster was placed at 10th position in the Poster of the Century competition compiled by trade magazine Campaign. In 2011, it was voted the top advertising campaign of all time in a poll by Outdoor Media Centre, and advertising and marketing portal, and was featured in an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It helped to bring the brand into forefront of the competition for cleavage after 30 years of relative obscurity. On the first Friday of every April in South Africa, brassière marketer Wonderbra sponsors a National Cleavage Day.

America's largest lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret was launched by Roy Raymond, a Stanford alumnus, in San Francisco in late 1970s with a similar appeal. Victoria's Secret Angels held its first fashion show at Plaza Hotel in New York in 1995. Even traditional brands, who were producing 1950s style pointy-cups, low-backs, low-fronts and no-straps, like Maidenform joined the competition in 1995. In 1999 the event was first webcast. By 2001, the event was being aired on network television with 12 million viewers for the first broadcast. Other lingerie manufacturers like Frederick's of Hollywood and Agent Provocateur also joined the competition by that time, with the former introducing a design called Hollywood Extreme Cleavage Bra that helped give the impression of a spherical cleavage like augmented breasts that was popularized by stars like Pamela Anderson.

The underwire bra utilizes a wire sewn into the bra fabric and under each cup, from the center gore to under the wearer's armpit. It helps to lift, separate, shape, and support the breasts. These bras use a thin strip of metal, plastic or resin, usually with a nylon coating at both ends. Some underwire bra styles also come in soft cup versions. Underwire bras accounted for 60% of the United Kingdom bra market in 2000 and 70% in 2005. About 70% of women who wear bras wear a steel underwire bra according to underwear manufacturer industries of New York in 2009. In 2001, 70% (350 million) of the bras sold in the United States were underwire bras. In 2005, underwire bras were the fastest growing segment of the market. There has been complaints that underwire bras restrict the flow of blood and lymph fluid around the breasts preventing drainage of toxins, though there has been no evidence of that.

In the next decade, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdowns, bralettes and soft bras started replacing underwired and padded bras, sometimes also serving as an outerwear. At the same time popularity of brands like Victoria's Secret decreased significantly. Because, according to Sarah Shotton, creative director of Agent Provocateur, "Now it's about the athletic body, health and wellbeing", than "about the male gaze," while according to independent lingerie designer Araks Yeramyan "It was #MeToo that catapulted the bralette movement into what it is today." Some bralettes still provide plunging designs, light padding, bottom support or significant cleavage.
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