How Bluebella is using its Valentine's campaign to shed light on modern sensuality

British lingerie brand Bluebella is launching a new Valentine’s-focused community campaign backed by the results of its Modern Sensuality survey.

Launching today, the campaign is rooted in responses from more than 1,500 women globally and seeks to challenge traditional narratives that frame sensuality as something performed for others. Instead, Bluebella positions it as personal, self-defined and confidently owned, aligning with the brand’s long-standing mission to champion lingerie as a form of self-expression.

At the heart of the initiative is a commitment to amplifying women’s voices. Bluebella has combined quantitative survey data with community casting, bringing together a cohort of influential figures, including body activist and author Charli Howard, fashion designer Pearl Lowe, and members of the Bluebella community.

The Modern Sensuality survey, written in collaboration with experts including sex educator Danielle Bezalel, Dr Candice Nicole Hargons, Dr Shemeka Thorpe and Kasey Vigil, asked over 1,000 women to reflect on how lingerie intersects with pleasure, identity and wellbeing. According to the research, lingerie is increasingly viewed not just as clothing, but as an investment in self-worth and a tool for creating a sensual mindset.

The data highlights self-love as the primary motivation for wearing lingerie, cited by 34.5% of respondents, followed by boosting confidence and self-esteem (23%). Romantic or intimate occasions ranked lower, at 17.7%, reinforcing the shift towards lingerie as something worn first and foremost for oneself.

Further insights reveal that women with children are more likely to purchase lingerie regularly than those without, suggesting lingerie plays a role in self-reclamation post-motherhood. Purchasing patterns also varied by sexuality, with LGBTQ+ and queer customers more likely to shop monthly and citing self-expression and body celebration as key drivers, rather than romantic occasions.

Emily Bendell, founder and CEO of Bluebella, said: "We have always believed lingerie should be a form of self-expression, not performance. With this campaign, we want to open up an intelligent and honest conversation around sensuality, sexuality and desire, one that celebrates how women define these experiences for themselves."

In a move that extends the campaign’s impact beyond marketing, all findings from the survey and community casting will be published as open access. By making the data publicly available, Bluebella aims to create a long-term resource for educators, students and researchers, as well as its own community.