Sarah Jenyns (1865–1952) was a seamstress and trained surgical maker, who revolutionised corsets for women all around the world.
She established a business with her husband in 1907 in the heart of Brisbane, where she started designing a revolutionary corset. Her designs stunned orthopaedic surgeons internationally.
Sarah Jenyns drew on her personal experience of wearing constrictive corsets, to design a garment that was pain-free but still fashionable. She was the first corset manufacturer to create garments suited to 12 different body shapes. Her corsets were also ground-breaking in that they helped women recover from painful surgeries.
Not only was Sarah’s corset revolutionary in minimising pain for women, they also gave women independence. Unlike other corsets, Sarah’s design allowed women to put the corset on themselves unassisted, without needing someone to do it up for them.
By 1912, her designs were patented worldwide, with her corset business growing at such a rate that she had to move to larger premises twice. At one point, her business employed over 200 machinists.
Sarah Jenyns passed away in 1952, but her family continued to run her business until 1992.
