About Us

Ann deal

Founder and CEO

Photo of Ann smiling at camera, wearing a nice shirt and necklace

For the Hollywood community, the Academy Awards are the highlight of the year. For Ann Deal, they were the start of a multimillion-dollar idea.

Inspired by watching celebrities walk the red carpet in daring ball gowns, Ann saw the need for a lingerie solution that would help women wear plunging necklines, backless dresses and other revealing looks with confidence. She went into business in her garage with a backless, strapless adhesive bra in 1993. It was an immediate hit and the first in a long line of Fashion Forms products to revolutionize the intimate apparel industry.

For the past two decades, Ann has enhanced the lives—and curves—of women around the world. With her signature Southern charm and a keen understanding of the symbiotic relationship between lingerie and fashion, she has turned Fashion Forms into the leading producer of specialty bras and accessories in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The company holds 14 patents and 18 trademarks for its innovative designs, and its products are sold in more than 9,000 stores worldwide.

Offerings include trendsetting bras such as the Original Water Bra and Go Bare Backless Strapless Bra as well as Strap Solutions, breast petals, and fashion tapes. The company also produces a variety of water push-up pads and silicone bra inserts that provide a natural, non-surgical lift.

Originally from North Carolina, Ann was born with an entrepreneurial spirit. As a child she made a game of selling the most Girl Scout cookies in her troop, discovering that if she had fun and shared her enthusiasm, she would reach her goal. As a teenager she set her sights on a career in business despite being told that young ladies could be one of three things: a secretary, nurse or teacher. She earned a spot in a top retail training program in Atlanta and began her career as a buyer for Rich’s department store, where she perfected the skills of assessing exactly what her customers desired.

By the time she moved to California in the early 1990s and went into business for herself, Ann had a deep sense of what the lingerie industry needed in order to evolve with changing styles—and she met that need with a game-changing product line that continues to set trends.

To accommodate her growing business, Ann moved her headquarters to Austin, Texas, in 2015. Ann is deeply committed to giving back and actively supported numerous local and international nonprofits in her coastal town of Ventura, California, and looks forward to doing the same in her new home in the heart of Texas. When she’s not on the road working and scouting trends, she enjoys perfecting her golf swing and exploring the lakes of central Texas.

 

Woman poses in a silk gown showing the adhesive bra she is wearing1993 - Ann Deal is watching the Academy Awards when she sees Hollywood sirens wearing backless strapless dresses that don’t have adequate support. Viola! The idea for the Adhesive Body Bra is born!

 

 

 

Fashion Form's earlier location in California1995 - Fashion Forms® moves from Ann’s garage to new digs in Ventura, California, where the company was headquarters until September 2015.

 

 

Ann holding Fashion Form's lace bra1998 - Ann creates the Original Water Push Up Bra®. It is introduced to the world a year later and quickly sells out across the U.S. and revolutionizes the push-up bra.

 

 

Ann stands near a bouquet of flowers and picture frames holding a cute small dog2002 - Ann received one of the intimate apparel industry’s highest honors: the Femmy Award for lifetime achievements.

 

 

 

 

2009 Femmy Gala advertisement, stating the event to take place Tuesday, February 3rd on Cipriani 42nd Street, NYC2009 - Fashion Forms expanded to Europe in 2009. Ann now has a successful international operation and regularly brings new lingerie solutions to UK and Europe.

 

Fun Fact: Ann holds an astonishing 14 patents and 18 trademarks, more than any other single entrepreneur in the intimate apparel industry.

 

 

A letter to Fashion forms from Raquel Welch reading: Dear Ann - thanks for all the fashion form goodies that you sent! I don't like to wear bones and corsets- so your "bras" give me just the kind of invisible support I love. Thanks again for sending me a fresh supply. Sincerely, RaquelI don’t like to wear bones and corsets so your ‘bras’ give me the kind of invisible support I love.

--Raquel Welch

 

 

 

 

 


Fashion form's strap solutions: Heart shaped bra clips of assorted colors2010 - Ann patents Strap Solution™, a heart shaped bra strap slip that conceals straps and lifts the bust.

 

 

 

 

Ann stands holding an award at the Hug Award Gala2011 - Ann’s philanthropic work was recognized by the Intimate Apparel Square Club (IASC), a New York based nonprofit. She was presented with the IASC’s Help Us Give Award (H.U.G.) at a gala benefiting pediatric services at the Rusk Institution of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

 

 

Lady Gaga wearing the U Plunge Backless Strapless bra under a fishnet tank top2014 - Lady Gaga wears the U Plunge Bra to the Fallon Tonight studios in NYC.

 

 

 

An image of the state of California to Texas, with hearts over the cities where the company started and moved to.2015 - Fashion Forms® moves from Ventura, CA to Austin, TX!

 

 

 

Fashion form's 25th anniversary seal2018 - Fashion Forms® celebrates 25 years!

 

 

 

 

 

Fashion form's made in America logo2019 - Fashion Forms® now has a MADE In The USA collection.

 

 

2023 - Fashion Forms® celebrated our 30th anniversary!

2023 Femmy Awards:

Ann and Becky stand together at the FemmysAnn holds her Femmy award for fashion formsAwards image showing Ann and Becky holding an award, surrounded by their beloved team

2024

The fashion forms team sit with Ann and Becky at the awards dinner table