Former X Factor contestant on first year of lingerie brand

As the coronavirus pandemic interfered with a standard launch, Chelsea Griffin waited for restrictions to ease so she could celebrate her business, La Dama Lingerie, properly.

The event was held at The Old Street Gallery in London, with 15 models wearing the latest pieces designed by Ms Griffin herself.

Read again: Former X Factor contestant launches lingerie line

Ms Griffin, 26, from Witney, revealed how the official launch went and how her business has grown in the last 12 months.

She said: “It went incredibly – it was a dream and I enjoyed it so much.

“We had a runway show and speakers, it went better than I expected.

“It was fun designing the latest pieces but also quite stressful too, it was worth all the work that went into it.

“It also opened a lot of doors for me by meeting all sorts of people.

“We’ve really grown in the last year, we’re now on ASOS Marketplace and we’ve done London Fashion Week – that was really big for us and the brand.

“We’ve expanded and got business internationally, in America and Europe.

“On ASOS Marketplace, we’re ranked 65th out of 1,894 for delivery, so how quick and efficient we are at delivering – that number is a phenomenal achievement.

“I was doing more modelling for the brand at the beginning, but I’m focused more on the business now.”

Chelsea Griffin (centre) at the official launch for her lingerie business. Picture: James Heatlie

This year marks the tenth since Ms Griffin appeared on the X Factor, as a 16-year-old.

In the same year Little Mix won the competition, Griffin took part and made the bootcamp part of the show.

Ms Griffin said she received ‘four yeses’ from judges Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa Contostavlos, and made the top 16 of the girls section, however she did not make the live shows.

Ms Griffin, who has previously worked as a model for Ann Summers, highlighted how taking part in London Fashion Week summarised what a whirlwind year it has been.

She said: “I was looking for tickets for the show and instead they offered me the chance to showcase my brand and collection.

“It was surreal, I’ve never been to anything like it – it was so exhausting but so good.

“I met models and it was a great chance to network – I’ve been invited to Milan Fashion Week from that.”

In addition to growing the business, Ms Griffin has also set up a scheme which sees sanitary towels sent to Zimbabwe.

“We collect them from people, and hearing the stories of what women have to use is distressing,” she said.