THE FOUNDER

Karen Poirier

Founder & CEO of Embrago and inventor of the patented Body Responsive Fit™ technology, the first bra-free clothing engineered to fully support fuller busts.

Karen Poirier is the founder and CEO of Embrago and the inventor of its patented Body Responsive Fit™ technology - a structural support system that builds full-bust support directly into a garment, eliminating the need for a bra.

She came to design after a 30-year marketing career, not through a fashion studio, but by setting out to solve a problem the industry had ignored for over a century: how to lift and shape a fuller bust without tight bands, wires, or hardware. After years of research and development - prototyping, consulting technical and textile experts, and refining couture-grade construction - she founded Embrago in 2018 and engineered a new approach to support.

A Pittsburgh native and Yale University graduate, Karen designs every piece in Embrago's line with thought and intention. Her expertise is grounded in lived experience: she began designing Embrago after her own midlife and menopausal body changes made conventional bras unbearable. Her design philosophy is that good design should be hyperversatile and durable, working harder than the typical one-use styles that dominate fashion.

Karen Poirier

Founder, Inventor & Designer

📍 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

THE INVENTION

A new approach to support, built into the seams.

Her patented system (US Patent #10555562) combines advanced seaming techniques with technical textiles to support fuller busts using only soft materials - no underwires, elastic, hooks, foam, or plastic - while adapting to natural body fluctuations through perimenopause, postpartum, and weight changes. The work created a new hybrid category that functions as intimates, performs as activewear, and presents as ready-to-wear.

Embrago's Compassion Collection earned two International Design Awards (Silver in Fashion Design and Bronze in Apparel Projects) and was a featured collection on the runway at Columbus Fashion Week. Every piece is ethically manufactured in Pennsylvania using OEKO-TEX® certified organic materials.

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EXPERTISE

Bra-Free Garment Design

Full-Bust Support Engineering

Patented Inventor (US Patent #10555562)

Slow & Sustainable Fashion

EDUCATION & SERVICE

Yale University — B.A. History of Art, 1990

Scholarship Panel Interviewer, University of Pittsburgh Nationality Rooms (2009–2014)

Fast Pitch Coach, Social Venture Partners (SVP) Pittsburgh (2014–2016)

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Thirty years of building brands. Then a category of her own.

2017 - Present

Founder & CEO · Inventor, Body Responsive Fit™ Technology

Embrago - Pittsburgh, PA

Invented and patented a bra-free structural support system; created a new hybrid apparel category; two International Design Awards; OEKO-TEX® organic, made in Pennsylvania.

2013 - Present

Founder

Keboworks

Full-stack marketing for innovative brands and thought leaders: branding, CRM, content, performance marketing, and managed services, specializing in startups and organizations at transition points.

2011 - 2012

VP of Marketing

IQity Solutions

Built brand and marketing strategy for a software startup acquired by NetSuite/Oracle.

2017 - Present

Senior Director, Development Services & Marketing

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Led advancement across four museums; built CRM/eCRM and analytics; accountable for $3M annual revenue and a team of 20; eight consecutive years of double-digit online sales growth.

CREDENTIALS & RECOGNITION

US Patent #10555562 — bra-free, seam-engineered Body Responsive Fit™ support system

International Design Awards (IDA): Silver in Fashion Design · Bronze in Apparel Projects — Compassion Collection

Columbus Fashion Week — Passport 2 Fashion featured designer

Press: Daily Mail, Boston Globe, and trade press (Underlines, Lingerie Briefs)

30+ years in marketing prior to founding Embrago

Woman-owned · ethically & sustainably made in the USA · OEKO-TEX® certified organic materials

THE COMPANY

Embrago is woman-owned and ethically, sustainably made in the USA. It created the first patented bra-free clothing, using Body Responsive Fit™ technology to engineer full-bust support directly into the seams of each garment with technical textiles and OEKO-TEX® certified organic cotton - no wires, bands, hooks, foam, or plastic. The line spans Dressed, Active, Travel, and Accessories, collapsing the boundaries between intimates, activewear, and ready-to-wear so women never need a bra again.