THE BRA’S THE STAR
June Kenton is the queen of British lingerie and has measured up everyone from royals to celebrities. MARION McMULLEN looks back at her career
PROVIDING undies fit for a queen is a daunting prospect and June Kenton admits she was terrified when she was first summoned to Buckingham Palace in 1982.
“Everyone is nervous when they meet the Queen. You worry about what to wear, whether your hair is right... whether you can curtsey without falling over. And that is when you are meeting the Queen in public. I was going to meet her in her bedroom.”
June’s husband Harold drove her to Buckingham Palace and she says she was a gibbering wreck before the fitting.
Luckily everything went smoothly and the meeting saw June royally-appointed as the corsetiere to Queen Elizabeth.
June reveals in her new autobiography Storm In A D Cup that she was in a complete dream after the first meeting and says: “I, June Kenton, a little Jewish woman from Croydon, had met the Queen and was walking through Buckingham Palace.”
The petite powerhouse has been in the lingerie industry for more than 60 years, and came up with her own method for bra-fitting. She discarded her tape measure and used only her eyes for sizings.
Comedy star Dawn French once said: “Thanks to June Kenton I have remained upright, with both front lumps safely encased for all of my adult life thus far. Phew.”
June transformed London’s famous Rigby & Peller into a leading international brand. She came from a family of retailers and studied at the Berlei Corset School in Oxford Street when she was starting out.
Her own empire began with her running two open-fronted shop- ping units in Brixton with her future husband Harold back in 1961. They built up the business over the years and made Contour – their company name – a success before they bought bespoke corsetry company Rigby & Peller in Mayfair in 1982.
The business was struggling at the time, but it had a Royal Warrant and had provided a service to the Queen for 22 years.
It was the last made-to-measure corsetry business in the UK and June remembers signing over a cheque for £20,000 and then working hard to build up trade and customers.
Her royal clients included Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother. They were also asked to make monster bras for The Benny Hill Show and The Two Ronnies over the years, but their main focus was on helping women to be fitted with the right bra for their body shape.
June points out: “Most women think twice about spending, say, £75 on a bra, but once you have one on, you immediately feel the difference.
“Someone who understood this right away is the wonderful comedian Jo Brand. Jo first came into Rigby & Peller with Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine to film an episode for their hugely successful television series, What Not To Wear. Jo needed help but was not 100% convinced that was possible. A short spell in the fitting room changed all that.”
Jo was so thrilled that she came back and bought £2,000 worth of gift vouchers so her friends and family could enjoy the same experience.
June has always been passionate about mastectomy after-care and had to face her own battle with breast cancer in 2007. She says: “I try hard not to dwell on the sad things of the past – or the sad things of today – because I have led a full and rich life.”
Meanwhile, the secrets of the Queen’s undies are safe with the discrete 81-year-old. June says: “Don’t think for a moment I could be tempted to share intimate details of anyone, let alone the Queen of England. I’d rather be sent to the Tower.”
Storm In A D Cup, priced £19.99, is available from Rigby & Peller stores worldwide. Go to JuneKenton.com