It’s difficult to imagine today, but there was a time when simply taking a deep breath wasn’t as easy. For centuries, corsets shaped the female silhouette by tightly compressing the waist and ribcage. While they represented beauty according to the standards of their time, they often came at a high cost: restricted breathing, limited movement and everyday discomfort – in extreme cases even a disfigured anatomy. Women’s bodies were expected to adapt to their clothing and not the other way around.
In 1917, a small company in the German village of Gomaringen challenged that idea. Carl Dölker, the founder of what would later become NATURANA, believed women deserved better. Working alongside physician Dr. Richard Haehl, he developed what became known as the Reform Corset: a design that still supported the female body while allowing women something remarkably simple: the freedom to move, to breathe and to live comfortably. And first and foremost: didn’t come at the cost of their well-being and health.
At the time, it represented a different approach to women’s underwear: putting comfort and freedom of movement at the centre of the design.
Looking back, it’s easy to see NATURANA’s story as one of changing fashion trends – from corsets to bras, from rigid construction to soft fabrics, from traditional materials to innovative fibres.
But underneath every new design lay the same question: How can underwear better support women’s wellbeing?
As the Dölker family explains: “Our great-grandfather’s first real success was the Reform Corset – a corset that restricted women less and was simply far more comfortable than anything else on the market. That’s still our recipe for success today: we’re always most successful with products that are incredibly comfortable.”
Comfort wasn’t treated as a luxury. It became the company’s purpose. And over the decades now, NATURANA continued to develop bras and bodywear that worked with women’s bodies instead of against them, pioneering innovations like the Side Smoother bra while continually refining fit, support and freedom of movement.
Women’s needs have changed. So have the questions.
A hundred years ago, women wanted underwear that didn’t squeeze their ribs. Today, consumers also want to know more about the materials in their clothes and how textiles are processed.
Bras and underwear are among the garments worn closest to the body. For NATURANA, its growing range of GOTS-certified products adds another dimension to the story: certification against defined requirements for organic fibres and textile processing.
GOTS sets requirements for the processing of textiles made with certified organic fibres. It covers stages after raw fibre production, including first processing, manufacturing and trading. Its requirements include criteria for chemical inputs used during textile processing. Chemical inputs used in GOTS-certified wet processing must meet the applicable GOTS criteria before use – all checked and certified by accredited third-party specialists.
Stephanie Dölker posiert am 14.03.2024 am Firmenstandort von Naturana in Gomaringen für ein Foto.
For NATURANA, their GOTS certification provides a defined framework for certified organic fibres and textile processing requirements, alongside the company’s longstanding focus on comfort and fit. The brand explains: “GOTS certification is an important step in expanding our range of certified products and applying defined requirements for organic fibres and textile processing.”
More than fashion:
In 1917, NATURANA asked how underwear could restrict women less and offer greater comfort. Today, it continues to focus on comfort and thoughtful design while also expanding its range of products certified to defined textile-processing requirements.
The shape of bras has changed, fabrics have evolved and technology has advanced. But NATURANA’s belief has stayed remarkably close to where it began in 1917: bodywear should help women feel good, not because it changes who they are, but because it supports them exactly as they are.
