Sculptresse

Sculptresse is a lingerie line for women with both a fuller bust and a larger band size, made by the Sheffield company Panache. It launched in April 2013 in bands 36 to 46 and cups D to J, and Panache relaunched it for spring 2026 as a fashion-led range in bands 34 to 46 and cups D to K, described as designed in London.

The gap between two markets

By 2013 the British bra trade had two well-served groups and one awkward one. Full-bust brands such as Panache fitted large cups on small and medium bands, from about 28 upward. Plus-size labels fitted large bands, but often with a narrow choice of cups and a conservative look. Women who needed a 42H or a 46G sat between the two.

Panache's answer was a separate name rather than a longer size chart on its main line. A bra for a 44 band is not the 32 version graded up. The wires change length and shape, the band needs more hooks and more height, and the straps carry more weight across a wider back. Giving that work its own label let the company design for it from the beginning.

Built to compete with Elomi

Contemporary reviewers placed the new line directly against Elomi, the plus-size brand owned by Wacoal Europe and the default choice in that size bracket at the time. The Lingerie Addict, reviewing the April 2013 launch, noted that options in the segment were "pretty slim" and that Sculptresse had been built to change that.

The first collection

The opening range leaned toward everyday basics: nude and pastel T-shirt bras, plus two more colorful styles that reviewers singled out. Willow was a full-cup bra in raspberry and lilac with a printed lace design. Bellise was a balconette with a floral pattern in orange and red accents.

Two design details mattered more than the prints. Panache shortened the underwires compared with its older large-band styles, so they would not dig in under the arm. It also used smooth fabric with printed lace effects rather than heavy corded lace, keeping the cups lighter and smoother under clothing. Both choices answered common complaints from the women the line was meant for.

A sister to Panache and Cleo

Sculptresse arrived four years after Cleo, Panache's younger fashion line, and the three brands split the business. Panache covered core full-bust fit and the sports bra, Cleo handled playful fashion, and Sculptresse took fuller figures. A 2016 brand profile mentioned plans for a Sculptresse sports option, extending Panache's best-known product into the larger band sizes.

The 2026 relaunch

In February 2026 the trade blog Lingerie Briefs reported a relaunch of Sculptresse by Panache, presented as refined and fashion-forward lingerie for fuller busts and curvier figures. The new size range runs from 34 to 46 in the band and D to K in the cup, slightly wider than the original on both axes.

The spring and summer 2026 collection named five styles: the Liberty Plunge, the Amara Full Cup, the Sophia Full Cup, the Muse plunge bra and the Bliss Full Cup Underwire. The autumn and winter 2026 additions were the Dream Comfort Stretch Bra and a Sophia Plunge Bra. The balance is telling: plunges sit beside full cups, a sign that the brand now treats a lower neckline as something its customer wants rather than something to avoid.

Who makes it

Sculptresse has no separate corporate history. It is a brand of Panache Lingerie Limited, a company founded by Anthony Power in 1982, registered in Sheffield and described as family-owned. The parent's long experience with heavy, wide-set busts is the main reason the line exists, and its fitting knowledge is what a customer is buying. In thirteen years Sculptresse has changed its prints, its styles and its marketing language more than once, but not its basic premise, that a large band and a large cup deserve to be designed together.

Last updated October 7, 2026