Australian women get Air bra

[Guest guest]

Shape of things to come

By RACHEL WELLSWednesday 24 October 2001

Up, up and away...

Transforming women's small assets has become big business in recent years. While an estimated 15,000 Australian women each year receive implants to enhance their natural endowments, designers of intimate apparel have been the real winners of our obsession with big breasts, as designers set about giving cleavage-challenged women cheaper alternatives to a boob job.

While the cleavage business is huge, it is not new. Since man first woke up to the fact that women had breasts, we've been doing our best to rework the artistry of Mother Nature. "Falsies'' first hit the market in the 19th century and people haven't stopped fiddling with breasts since.

The latest bust-boosting contraption to hit the Australian market after a spate of such offerings in the past few months is Kayser's Blackmail Pump Bra, complete with a pocket-size pump and a promise to inflate one's natural assets by at least one cup size.

Kayser's Pump Bra features air sacs that can be inflated or deflated, depending on the wearer's desired size.

According to Kayer's marketing manager, Syme, "it is an Australian first for women who are looking for a sexier cleavage without having to resort to cosmetic surgery''.

Cleavage (and how to get more) appears to be the theme of this summer's lingerie collections. The Pump Bra comes hot on the heels of the Ultimo bra - the one credited for enhancing 's cleavage in Brokovich.

Touted "the secret weapon of every buxom-looking celebrity who hasn't undergone cosmetic surgery'' (Liz Hurley, Kylie Minogue and Bullock have all publicly sworn allegiance), the Ultimo bra uses liquid silicon gel inserts sewn into the cups to give the wearer an instant life-like breast and cleavage enhancement.

Ultimo's creator, Mone, is one of Britain's richest women. She has made 10 million from the bust-boosting bra. Selfridges had queues into the street the day the bra went on sale in Britain, and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York had a six-week waiting list. It hit Australian stores last month.

A few years ago, the Wonderbra was the push-up bra of bras. These days, liquid silicon and gel-filled versions are gaining popularity. As well as the Ultimo, there is Elle Macpherson's Silicone Valley, Triumph's Liquid Assets, Kayser's Spa Bra, Berlei's Oilala bra ... in fact, it's almost impossible to keep up with the long list of gravity-defying creations.

Breasts are very much in fashion right now. Corsetry, plunging necklines, mono-shoulder, off-the-shoulder and strapless tops and gowns means the focus is very much on shoulders, decolletage and, of course, the bust. Mind you, it's difficult to remember a season in recent years when the bust was out of favor. And as long as men walk this earth, you can bet boobs will be a permanent fashion fixture, and so too the demand to push breasts to new heights. But, what will they come up with next?

Kayser's Blackmail Pump Bra, $44.95, is available now, tel: 9387 2100, for stockists.