“For my underwear collection I was inspired by a real woman, with appeal, charisma and sensuality. Elisabetta Canalis and I have been friends for a while now, we have already worked together in the past and so I was sure she was just perfect for enhancing the spirit of this advertising campaign…and I was not wrong! Her Mediterranean beauty and intense appeal interpret an intriguing super-feminine woman…the result is amazing!”

Check out the images below and let us know if you agree with Cavalli! Do you think she looks amazing?

Click here for a making of video!

Photos: Roberto Cavalli

“These bathing suits are instant stunners, with their brightly-hued peacock feather patterns that wreap around the silhouette. Jeweled “RC” accents mark the designer’s signature, sexy design.”

Prices start at a whopping $445 for the bikini…

Photo courtesy of Melinda Sue Gordon / Columbia Pictures.

Roberto Cavalli has been featured many times in TLP. Cavalli teamed up with Hugh Hefner to redesign the bunny costume for the Playboy Clubs. Cavalli was not likely involved in the costumes for the movie, but he is the design talent behind the current costume. (Mona May is the costume designer listed for the movie.) Here’s a photo of the original bunny costumes from the 1960s.

Playboy approached Cavalli to design the updated costume for the future Playboy venues at the new tower of the Palms Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. Scheduled to open in early 2006, the tower will include a boutique casino and lounge, a nightclub, a retail store, and a two-story Hugh Hefner sky villa. Cavalli’s will be the first reinterpretation of the costume in more than a quarter century. The bunny costume was first introduced at the original Playboy Club in Chicago in 1960, and began as a modified one-piece swimsuit with the addition of collar, cuffs, and the legendary rabbit ears and cottontail. ~ Dexigner.com

The new Bunny Costume:

Photos courtesy of Playboy.

Read Playboy’s own history of the bunny costume.

Luxury lingerie Wild Orchid opened in Kent late 2007 and has been very successful. In fact, they immediately opened another two stores in London making the British total three under their label name of Vendetta. Having initially been distributors of fine lingerie when they started business in 1992, the Vendetta stores not only sell their own brand but also those of Christian Lacroix, Roberto Cavalli and Dior. Wild Orchid plans to open another store in March 2008 under the Russian name Wild Orchid that is slated to sell their Décolleté label.

One of the unique features of Wild Orchid and a marketing point that helps propel its huge success is the company’s niche market. Contrarily, the thrust is not focused on women who need undergarments but rather women who are interested in quality, uniqueness and must-have creations.

Wild Orchid prefers to sell one expensive piece of high-end lingerie to a woman who appreciates the garment rather than sell six pieces to someone who just needs new undergarments. Women who shop at Vendetta are not interested in purchasing for quantity but instead for quality. Further, the company does not promote undergarments as a functional necessity. Maybe a fashion necessity, yes, but a functional necessity, no.

Alexander Fedorov, founder and president of Wild Orchid has poised the company for serious global expansion with plans to open stores in the USA, France and Italy. One of its biggest advantages over other lingerie companies is that most of its production is carried out in their own factories in their home country. Unlike other lingerie labels, Wild Orchid is its own manufacturer who is not required to depend on the Chinese factories.

The Peacock & Strutt store’s got a great label selection, including Spoylt, Chloé, Ayten Gasson, Lupoline, Belinda Robertson, And God Created Woman, Roberto Cavalli, … If you want to know what’s going on at this big-name packed store — sign up on their website! You’ll know when the sales start, you’ll know when new pieces arrive — it’s well worth it!

First — sign up for our Valentine’s Day Contest though, and let us know you’d like this gorgeous Frankly Darling set!

Readers who have not yet heard about Pudding can be forgiven for thinking it’s an odd name for a lingerie shop! That’s because Pudding is far more than the average lingerie shop. Its owners, Helen and Paul Masters, describe it as ‘a luxury lingerie salon, where shopping should feel like a real treat…they want their customers to indulge!’

Their opening catwalk show featured an exclusive range of the world’s best brands, most of which are completely new to Reading. As Helen described, “Shoppers in Reading told us that they’d love to be able to treat themselves to world renowned luxury brands like Rigby and Peller, La Perla, Myla and Roberto Cavalli but until now that has meant a trip to Harrods or maybe an out of the way lingerie shop. There’s also a real demand for expert fitting and a wider size range than other high street stores offer – that’s where Pudding can help.”

Pudding was created to bring luxury lingerie to the high street for the first time and to offer a retail therapy treat for the woman who wants the best fitting and best looking bra , a divine pair of knickers or a stunning piece to wear on the beach that no-one else will have! Bras start at £32 so Pudding also have made luxury affordable to lots of shoppers.

Helen says she is very keen to encourage the women of Reading who haven’t been professionally fitted by a lingerie specialist to come and give it a go : ‘It’s free, fun and can instantly help you look half a stone slimmer and give you a trimmer waist . People often walk out of the salon wearing their new bra after a fitting because they love the change in shape it gives them so much that they don’t want to take it off!’ says Helen.

With more than 50% of Pudding’s research group admitting to having returned lingerie bought for them by their partner, Pudding also offers a tailored gift buying service for men, complete with gift buying advice; luxury gift wrapping and beautifully presented gift vouchers. As Paul, co-owner says “We also have a wish list that our customers can fill in to give some hints to their partner…so now there’s no excuses for buying dodgy gifts in the wrong colour or size!”

Pudding ~ Lingerie that’s good enough to eat

Additional notes
The Pudding range includes lingerie, swimwear, nightwear, hosiery, corsets, accessories and pamper products.
Brands stocked include: Le Mystere, La Perla, Myla, Pleasure State, Roberto Cavalli, Spoylt, Chantal Thomass, SPANK, Verde Veronica, Verdissima , Moontide, Maryann Mehlhorn, Hoola, Barbara, Edencoeur, Amoralia, Plie, Purelime, Girl From Ipanema, Esbelt, Soyelle. Free fitting and gift service available. The website: www.puddinglingerie.com, will be fully transactional from later in the year.

The Roberto Cavalli brand also has a lingerie line, and they’re known for their quality fabrics and (and this is actually quite the surprise after what we’ve just mentioned) sober designs. Their focus on quality has however given them quite a few loyal customers who value the basic yet feminine looks RC has put into their lingerie. The Second Skin collection is no different, and combines the sober look with extremely soft fabric (Do they really feel like a second skin? I wouldn’t believe all the marketing talk ). The little diamond-detail in the center between the cups is a true eye catcher.

We’d like to suggest the Roberto Cavalli Second Skin Underwire Bra in combination with the Second Skin high brief and were very excited about the looks and feels. The push-up bra looks great too, but we haven’t had the chance of testing that out yet. Prices start at about $60 for the Underwire bra, which isn’t too expensive. The triangle version can be found for $45.99, and the cheapest I’ve found for the Push-up bra was $84.