Our brand
Lejaby : the birth of a passion
It is the passion of one woman, Gabrielle Viannay, that is behind the love story between Lejaby and women. In the Thirties, in the back room of a cinema in Bellegarde, near Lyon, owned by her sister and her brother-in-law, Gabrielle began making the first of the legendary bras. They were so successful that they were soon nicknamed “bras “à la Gaby””. The name Lejaby is a natural extension of the nickname.
1950
When Gaby died, in 1954, Lejaby continued to develop. The collections began to include briefs, suspenders, basques, petticoats, and so on. This placed Lejaby in the traditional line of corsetry, and it began to express its skill. Premises opened in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, where the first shows were held. Even at this early stage, Lejaby was very aware of its image and keen to add a touch of reverie to everyday life, and it called in the famous poster artist Gruau for the advertising campaign for its “Du Tonnerre” range.
1960
In the front line as ever, Lejaby negotiated the exclusivity of the new Lycra fibre as soon as it arrived in France, and launched its “Miss Top” range in 1965. The range was a bestseller, and with more than three million items sold it achieved second place for lingerie in France for Lejaby and opened up development on the international scene.
1970
Despite the economic difficulties the corsetry industry had to face as a result of the Women’s Lib movement, Lejaby – as ever in tune with what women want – introduced innovations. 1971 – in response to the miniskirt, Lejaby produced tights 1972 – the “Liberty” range was a surprise, with no underwiring and in six sharp colours 1977 – the “Mandarine” range took the scallops from petticoats and used them to add extra cleavage
1980
Rather provocatively, Lejaby celebrated its jubilee with a range in red, which was very bold during a period more used to signs of minimalism and neo-romanticism. It was a success.
1990
Lejaby continued to innovate, reinforcing its complicity with women. Microfibre, fine to the touch and light in weight, was the inspiration for its revolutionary range. The totally invisible and extremely comfortable “Nuage” range was launched in 1995, reshaping the lingerie universe; it was more successful than anything else before it, with ten million items sold in the space of ten years. Lejaby became a subsidiary of the American Warnaco Group (licences for Calvin Klein lingerie and jeans) and continued its exceptional development. In 1999, Lejaby created briefs that were invisible too, and these have since become basics in the collection.
2000
The beginning of the new century offered Lejaby an opportunity to impose its skill combined with tradition and modernity. The spirit of the “Tattoo” range, a combination of light and dark that draws wonderful patterns on the skin, the tweed look, and floral and geometric mixes perpetuate the Lejaby spirit with innovations so that comfort, seductiveness and modernity become essential features of women’s everyday lives.
2008
Lejaby became the jewel in the crown of the Austrian Palmers Group.
2009
Lejaby brings the fabulous decade to a close by turning to the future with the “Lejaby Gloss” range that highlights invisibility. Using a unique process, the result of innovation and research, “Lejaby Gloss” combines invisibility and femininity to perfection. It is as if light is captured by the fabric; the seams disappear, and the items are amazingly comfortable to wear. In the space of eighty years, Lejaby has carved out a niche for itself as an essential partner in women’s lives. By anticipating their desires and fulfilling their wishes, Lejaby has become a friendly brand.
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