Corsets are quickly becoming a fashion must-have thanks to stars such as Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Dita Von Teese regularly being spotted out wearing the old-fashioned undergarment.

And now one young Scots designer is hoping to cash in on the trend by setting herself up in business as a maker of made-to-measure corsets.

Graduate Emma Bryant has always loved the garment, so after finishing her studies in England, she decided to start her own company.

And as corsets were her passion, designing and making them seemed to be a great way to make aliving.

She said: “I have always loved the look of the corset and that whole Moulin Rouge style, so I just knew it was the right thing for me to do.

Emma Bryant Corsets

“Of course the corsets we wear today do generally come from the Civil War and Victorian eras and were meant to be worn as undergarments, but they look great with a short skirt for going clubbing or even with jeans for during the day.

“An underbust corset also looks great over a white shirt and a pencil skirt.

“That’s a very fashionable look at the moment and one that could even be worn in the office.”

Emma’s business is just in the early stages but she has already created a beautifully embroidered corset for Scotland’s burlesque venue Club Noir for a performance in Glasgow.

Emma said: “It is for a part of the show called The Secret Garden, so I tried to make use of plants and butterflies in my design.

“It is also an underbust corset which goes down over the hips in the style of Edwardian corsets, which means that whoever wears it has to walk in a really provocative way.

“I enjoyed making it and I know it will be a huge thrill to see my design on stage, although I also had to make nipple tassels to go with it which was a new experience for me.”

Emma graduated last summer from a three-year course in costume interpretation from the Wimbledon School of Art in London.

The course is designed to prepare graduates for work in TV and film, but by the end of the three years Emma had had enough and wanted to go out on her own instead.

She said: “I would have gladly never have seen another needle by the end of the course.

“I had also done so much work experience, doing things like ironing sheets for hours on end for soap powder adverts, that I just didn’t want to go down that path anymore.”

Despite being back with her family in Lesmahagow for only a few months, Emma has already been selected to exhibit at Glasgow Fashion Week, where her corsets will be on show from 10am until 5.30pm every day in the city’s Merchant Square.

She said: “It is all going great for me and I am really excited about the future.”

Emma’s corsets come in three basic designs, costing between £150 and £250.

The cheapest corset has plastic ‘boning’, which means it can be worn for far longer than the steel boning found in the £200 version.

The most expensive corset is also hand embroidered.

Amazingly, an average-sized person can have their waist pulled in by up to eight inches by a corset, and Emma claims the smallest waist measurement possible using one of her designs is a tiny 16 inches.

She said: “Of course it all depends on the size of the person to begin with, but pulling in the waist to that size is possible.

“Generally though I find women are only looking to have their waists pulled in by a couple of inches so they can at least be comfortable when they go out.

To find out more about Emma’s corsets click on www.myspace.com/emmelinecorsets
- Source: Nice and Squeezy, Daily Record, Mar. 28, 2007