The Formfit Company was established in 1917 with headquarters in Chicago as a maker of women’s “foundation garments” – mainly corsets and girdles.
It was one of the largest, if not the largest manufacturers of such products in the world. At their Chicago headquarters they had a building a block long and eight stories high which housed manufacturing, shipping and sales. Later they also became known for other types of lingerie, particularly bras and briefs.
They also had facilities in nearby Aurora, Illinois.
In the early 1960s, Formfit merged with Rogers lingerie, to make Formfit-Rogers. In this era, the label enjoyed a renaissance of sorts, producing intimate garments and gowns designed by Italian fashion designer, Emilio Pucci.
In the 1970s Formfit-Rogers was acquired by New York based apparel holding company, I. Appel Corp., run by New York businessman, Norman Katz.
Under I. Appel, Formfit-Rogers built on its reputation as a premium market intimate apparel label, from its Emilio Pucci days.
In the 1980s Formfit was an up-market label carried in fine department stores including Lord & Taylor.
In the late 1980s, like other I. Appel labels, Formfit’s manufacturing was relocated to Mexico. Its quality control suffered, and many department stores dropped the line. This, combined with the rise of Victoria’s Secret, saw Formfit-Rogers brand fall into decline (along with many other intimate apparel brands).
The “seamless panties” line of Formfit was acquired in 1997 by Jockey International and sold under the label “Form-Fit”.
Many other brands have used the hyphenated word “Form-Fit” to describe various underwear lines. The term “Form-Fit” is not exclusive to the brand “Formfit” and has sometimes caused brand confusion.
The rights to the Formfit-Rogers name are currently held by Columbia based Ingresar Apparel Company, where it is enjoying some renewed success in the South American intimate apparel market.
