We design for nine distinct Indian body types
Clovia is one of India’s fastest-growing lingerie and lifestyle brands, transforming the way Indian women experience intimate wear. Founded with a vision to combine style, comfort, and functionality, Clovia has revolutionised the category by offering solution-driven lingerie designed for real Indian body types. With 5,000+ product styles across lingerie, sleepwear, activewear, shapewear, swimwear, and personal care, the brand caters to nine distinct body types and offers 50+ sizes, making inclusivity central to its ethos.
Harnessing advanced data-driven design, Clovia leverages proprietary innovations like the Clovia Curve Fit Test and its technology engine ReX, processing 140 million+ customer data points to deliver lingerie tailored to individual needs. Today, the brand serves 5 million+ customers across 2,500+ cities, supported by an omnichannel presence that includes 80+ exclusive outlets, leading e-commerce platforms, and quick-commerce tie-ups. With Reliance Retail’s backing, Clovia continues to scale its offerings while staying committed to affordability, inclusivity, and innovation.
Speaking to Fibre2Fashion, Co-founder & Chief Growth Officer Soumya Kant shares insights into Clovia’s journey, its technological edge, and how the brand is redefining India’s intimate wear market.
Clovia began with the mission of transforming the way Indian women experience lingerie. How has the brand evolved since its inception?
Lingerie has long been a topic of hushed conversations in India, making the shopping experience uncomfortable for many women, especially in male-run physical stores. We recognised early on that the evolution of this category had lagged the rapid shifts in outerwear fashion. From the moment Clovia was conceived, we knew we had to revolutionise how lingerie was marketed and sold—both online and offline. We established the brand to empower women with lingerie that looks sexy and feels comfortable. Our vision is to redefine the Indian lingerie market with high-fashion, premium lingerie that provides the comfort that every woman deserves.
Today, Clovia offers over 5,000 product options in lingerie and sleepwear, 50+ sizes tailored for 9 body types. Through a feedback-led design approach and our ‘Clovia Curve Fit Test,’ we ship approximately 1.3 million products each month, selling one every second. With a growing customer base of over 5 million across 2,500+ cities, Clovia continues to redefine lingerie shopping, making it more inclusive and accessible.
How has the perception of lingerie and intimate wear evolved among Indian consumers in the last decade?
Over the past decade, the perception of lingerie and intimate wear among Indian consumers has undergone a gradual yet significant transformation. Traditionally, discussions around lingerie were held in hushed tones. However, we believe there is no reason why women should not speak about it more openly and confidently. There is nothing inherently embarrassing about discussing innerwear.
As with any cultural shift, change does not happen overnight. Recognising this, we have consistently leveraged all our platforms to challenge and dismantle the existing stigma. Through our content on social media, we always try to delight our customers and live by the concept of ‘Happy is My Superpower’. The intention is to normalise conversations around lingerie while educating them, which is often talked about in hushed voices.
We also launched TV commercials featuring Bollywood stars Shraddha Kapoor and Manushi Chhillar with an objective to talk about Clovia, bringing conversations around lingerie to the living rooms of Indian households, a topic many women hesitate to address.
We remain committed to challenging stereotypes and fostering an environment where lingerie can be discussed freely and without hesitation.
With Reliance Retail acquiring an 89 per cent stake in Clovia in 2022, how has this partnership influenced your growth strategy and operations?
Through this partnership, Clovia benefits from Reliance’s scale and retail expertise, thereby extending the brand’s presence and offering a stronger value proposition through world-class quality, design, innovation, and technology in the intimate wear category. The aim is to make Clovia the most loved brand in its category.
Clovia’s ‘Curve Fit Test’ and data-led design approach are often highlighted as key differentiators. How does technology shape your product development process?
Clovia places considerable emphasis on technology, having developed a proprietary technology engine called ReX (or ReqS, short for Requirement Simulator). This innovative engine empowers designers to create, showcase, and manufacture short runs of various designs at their discretion. It continuously monitors product performance by tracking sales, customer response, and feedback reception.
Clovia’s Bra Bot, an AI chatbot, autonomously handles customer queries and directs remaining inquiries requiring human intervention to a support executive. Additionally, Clovia offers the Curve Fit Test, which helps users find their perfect bra fit based on body type, along with other tools to match bras with dresses, receive period cycle notifications, and provide a guide to assist men in selecting the perfect gift for their partners, among others.
Clovia Curve Fit Test, the first of its kind in India, is a patent-pending algorithm that recommends the right size and more importantly, the right fit for each body type. Built over inputs from nearly half a million Indian women, it has been successful in recommending the right bra to women across 900+ cities in India. Users buying using this tool have significantly higher repeat purchase rates. Overall, Clovia crunches 140 million first-party data points across 3 million women users to keep iterating on product fits and recommending to users.
The brand designs lingerie for nine different body types and offers over 50 sizes. How do you ensure a balance between fit, comfort, and style across such a wide range?
Recently, we introduced a range of plus-size bras to ensure inclusivity for all body types. Our plus-size collection offers numerous types of appealing and comfortable bras for everyday wear, available in sizes up to 44F. The range includes minimiser and full-figure styles designed to ensure the right support and comfort for curvaceous women. For example, the Minimiser Bra minimises the bust size while enhancing the shape for a sleek silhouette under the garment. The collection includes a variety of styles, from everyday essentials to elegant designs, ensuring that every woman can find something that suits her taste and comfort. We are of the view that every woman deserves to feel confident and comfortable, and our extended size range ensures that women with varied body types get the right fit and feel comfortable in their skin.
Data-Driven Sizing: Backed by extensive consumer feedback, Clovia continuously refines its sizing patterns. Each design is tested across diverse body shapes to ensure inclusivity and accuracy.
Fit Trials for Real Women: Every product undergoes real-body fit trials across different age groups and body types, ensuring practical validation beyond mannequins or CAD-based patterns.
Advanced Construction & Fabric Technology: The range incorporates cushioned straps, seamless bonded technology, and improved fabrics to prevent digging, pinching, or irritation, while ensuring maximum comfort.
Segmented Product Range: From everyday essentials to specialised categories such as bridal, festive, maternity, teenage, and plus-size collections, Clovia caters to varied consumer needs and occasions.
How do brands in the lingerie segment address the challenge of standardising sizes across different body types and regions?
Lingerie sizing is challenging because of variations in body shapes across regions—a factor the industry has been working to address through inclusive size ranges, improved fit technologies, and better consumer education. Across the market, brands are increasingly relying on data analytics, 3D design tools, and fit algorithms to bridge the gap between standard measurements and real-world body diversity.
At Clovia, we design for nine distinct Indian body types and offer over 50 sizes to support women through their various life stages. This includes beginner’s bras for teens, T-shirt bras for college and office-going girls, bridal bras for youth, maternity bras for new mothers, and solution-based bras for seniors.
India is a diverse country, where body types and preferences vary significantly across regions. To cater to their personal preferences, we have curated a range of our bras for fuller body types, including minimiser and full-figure styles designed to ensure the right support and comfort. We believe that every woman deserves to feel confident and comfortable, and our extended size range ensures that women with diverse body types find the right fit and feel comfortable in their skin.
Clovia has expanded into categories like activewear, shapewear, swimwear, and even personal care. What drives your diversification decisions?
Our diversification is guided by our constant engagement with customers and insights gathered from our proprietary technology engine, which processes over 140 million customer profile data points. Over the years, we have seen women seek more than just lingerie. They want complete lifestyle solutions that cater to every stage of their lives, from maternity and activewear to personal care and senior-friendly lingerie. We have launched solution-based products like sports-specific activewear, maternity wear, and senior bras and briefs, alongside expanding categories such as swimwear and shapewear. Each new line is introduced only when we can deliver the same high standards of comfort, fit, and design that Clovia is known for.
With over 5,000 online product styles and 250+ new lingerie styles each month, how do you maintain consistency in quality and innovation?
We maintain consistency by combining technology-led decision-making, agile manufacturing, and rigorous quality checks at every stage. Our proprietary ReX engine allows us to introduce new designs in small batches, track their performance in real time, and scale only those that meet our quality and fit benchmarks. This approach is complemented by close collaboration with local manufacturing units, enabling us to maintain control over quality while meeting fast turnaround timelines. Innovation also comes from our strong focus on customer feedback, with over 140 million profile data points guiding our design process.
Tools like our AI-powered Bra Bot further support this cycle by interacting directly with customers, addressing fit and style queries, and sharing valuable insights with our design and production teams. By combining advanced technology, data-driven insights, and a customer-first mindset, we ensure that every launch is both relevant and high-performing.
Clovia caters to over 5 million customers across 2,500+ cities. What customer behaviour trends are you noticing in lingerie and intimate wear?
First, inclusivity and innovation are driving preferences, with a noticeable shift towards minimalism. Plus-size offerings have gained significant attention, addressing the long-overlooked needs of women seeking stylish, well-fitted, and comfortable lingerie. Thoughtfully designed collections, including plus-size, minimisers, and high-impact bras, combine support, style, and functionality to empower women.
Second, the rise of lightweight, bonded, seamless materials have redefined comfort, meeting the growing demand for minimalistic designs. Lingerie has evolved from a basic necessity to a fashion-forward, occasion-specific statement. While cotton was once the preferred fabric for comfort and breathability, advancements in textile technology have introduced alternative fabrics that offer a softer touch and easy maintenance and finishes that align with modern Indian trends. The focus remains on developing fabrics suitable for the Indian climate, including seamless bonded garments, long-lasting cotton blends, and advanced polyester blends.
Lastly, e-commerce and quick commerce continue to play a vital role in increasing accessibility, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Digital strategies are being complemented by offline store expansions in these regions, offering curated, localised experiences. Additionally, Gen Z consumers, now entering the workforce, are influencing trends with their emphasis on style, comfort, fit, and quality.
How is the industry adapting its marketing and retail strategies to break taboos and encourage open discussions around lingerie in culturally diverse markets like India?
The industry is steadily moving towards making lingerie a part of everyday conversations by using relatable, inclusive, and body-positive messaging. Brands are shifting away from portraying lingerie only through aspirational imagery and instead focusing on authentic storytelling that resonates with diverse audiences.
At Clovia, we have built campaigns that mix education, humour, and community engagement to make these conversations approachable. We have built a rich content ecosystem—from fun, shareable memes to educational videos—designed to make women feel comfortable engaging with the category. Campaigns like ‘Nothing But Real’ and ‘Find the Right Bra for Your Outfit’ have combined humour, relatability, and utility to break down barriers.
We launched Clovia’s first-ever TVCs featuring Shraddha Kapoor to spark national conversations. Our Quick Mind-to-Market team allows us to respond instantly to trends with creative, culturally tuned content. By introducing vernacular meme marketing and deeper tier 2/tier 3 outreach, we have expanded our footprint far beyond metro audiences.
Every piece of content is guided by our core belief, ‘Happy is my Superpower’, ensuring our communication always uplifts, empowers, and inspires confidence.
The BYOB ‘Bring Your Old Bra’ initiative with Respun addresses a significant gap in textile recycling. How do you measure its impact and plan to scale it?
We are taking our first step towards raising awareness about an issue that many women experience but rarely talk about—how to responsibly dispose of old bras.
Clovia steps forward not only as a lingerie brand but also as a partner in enabling responsible choices. Through campaigns like #BringYourOldBra, we are driving conversations that matter, while simultaneously creating solutions through collection drives, recycling collaborations, and upcycling initiatives with Respun.
Our goal is to normalise this conversation. Just as Clovia encourages women to openly discuss the importance of finding the right bra, we also want to emphasise the importance of saying goodbye to your old bra the right way, with sustainability and responsibility at the forefront.
Looking ahead, what are your key priorities for Clovia in terms of product innovation, market expansion, and brand positioning over the next five years?
Moving forward, we are focusing on expanding our categories within these platforms, with particular emphasis on sports-specific activewear, maternity collections, and a dedicated range for beginners. These additions are designed to cater to evolving consumer needs and market demands.
