“Undercover: The Evolution of Underwear” at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London

If you will be in or around London this summer, consider stopping in at the Fashion and Textile Museum for a unique lingerie exhibit.  The exhibit, which began June 12 and will run until September 27, looks at lingerie’s shifting role in fashion and culture. The exhibit examines everything from the first bra to Christian Dior’s “New Look” to contemporary designs from La Perla and Stella McCartney.

Curator Alison McCann has worked with lingerie merchandising and product-development for 14 years with brands like Pleasure State and Calvin Klein Underwear. She begins the timeline with Mary Phelps Jacob, who patented the first bra in 1915. During World War I materials were scarce, and women had to find ways to cut costs. “The resources going into the corset manufacture were in decline, so they had to look at other methods of undercover. … A bra is far more cost-effective to produce than a corset,” McCann said.

The exhibit explores lingerie construction through themes such as enhancement, control, and research and innovation. Lingerie’s growth spurt between the 1980s and today is studied, featuring brands like Triumph, Rigby and Peller, Spanx, The Lake & Stars, and Victoria’s Secret. It looks at the celebrity influence on the lingerie scene, how underwear is advertised and where its place is in our culture and our media.

“Now there isn’t one particular style or shape that is the real defining thing,” McCann said of the contemporary lingerie featured. “It’s about bra wardrobing: having the right bra for the right outfit. It can be the case of having five bras in your wardrobe to accommodate the shape changes.”

The flowing silk charmeuse pieces incorporate Lola Haze’s aesthetic of modern luxury with a playful twist. Designer Laura Mehlinger’s soft structures give flowing form to the liquidy paintings, and her touches of sheer chiffon detailing compliment the delicacy of Pinson’s brush strokes.

Pinson has personalized these lively canvases with imaginative scapes of cranes, sparrows, and figures leaning in for a kiss. Her influences ranged from deco-oriental prints and Japanese kimonos to the lovers on the streets of New York.

Pinson’s hand-painted clothing ranges from her vibrant, eccentric and sometimes humorous one-of-a-kind t-shirts to her psychedelic hand-dyed scarves. The characters that come to life through her painting emit references to saints, ghosts, beasts, intricate textiles, sweeping landscapes and intimate portraiture.

Mehlinger says, “The element of visual surprise is an essential for Lola Haze’s  seasonal intimates collections. I like to integrate playful juxtapositions within the structure of the garments, for example through colorblocking or hardware mixed with silk. Working with Charlotte has been an inspiring experience, and working with a surface artist creates a new element for bringing whimsy and surprise to Lola Haze. It’s also exciting to bring Lola Haze out of the boudoir and onto the street.”

Pinson adds, “I’m extremely pleased with the results of the collaboration. Each design and medium lends itself so well to the other. The end product is a beautiful and elegant garment that both of us took great pleasure in creating. The whole process was a labor of love.”

More info can be found on www.lolahaze.com & charlottepinson.com!

The Aubade website allows you to view the images or even download a pdf file for high quality printing — what a service! Happy new year!

These beautiful photo’s are straight from the Marlies Dekkers website:

More pictures and info are on the Marlies Dekkers site, check it out!

Want to see what I’m talking about? Enjoy these beautiful photo’s and check out their website!

Founded in February of 2005 by C.E.O./Designer Layla L’obatti, BTS merges high fashion with underground edge, already garnering a cult following of lingerie lovers everywhere as well as industry professionals. By giving student designers a platform on which to express their talent and creativity, BTS aims to provide a means of experience and exposure beyond the classroom.

“The goal of Between The Sheets is to give young designers a chance to channel their fantasies, desires and dreams into collections which are shown in a real-life setting, building their confidence, exposure, and networking skills as they head out into the competitive world of fashion,” explains L’obatti.

Inspired by the elusive and seductive nature of dreams, L’obatti chose the theme “What Dreams May Come,” for this year’s presentation. Approximately twenty designers (L’obatti included) will send looks down the runway, featuring their visions and dreams for the future of intimate apparel. The cutting-edge collections will span all that the industry has to offer, from flirty corsets, bras and panties to sexy sleep, day and swimwear.

Want more info? Check out btsfashionshow.com — they’ve got all the scoops!

Anyway, on to lingerie! The lovely Faire Frou Frou boutique has 5 of their superb pieces in stock – but the photo’s they’ve added just don’t do these corsets and bra’s justice. That’s why, before taking a look at the Faire Frou Frou e-shop you should look at these photo’s from the official Courthworth Paris website in full size to get the full wow-effect ! Beware: some of these photo’s are from previous collections:

Beautiful, aren’t they? Well, head over to the Courthworth website or Faire Frou Frou for so much more!

That’s a good thing, because Nieuwsblad photographer Pol De Wilde snapped up miss Von Teese in some extremely joyful positions:

Hope you enjoy the photo’s!

Sometimes, a book appears that makes history, a book that is still read 2600 years after the author’s death. This is what happened with Sun Tzu’s Art of War, one of the oldest and most famous strategy studies ever written, and one of the most influential too (from Napoleon to the Desert Strom Campaign). Aubade is doing the same thing in the lingerie world with their Aubade Lessons.

French lingerie brand Aubade has always been well-known for being pioneers in the world of lingerie. From the strapless bra to the now essential g-string many products have been released thanks to their innovations and discoveries. And this mentality is also applied in the ad campaigns. Amongst these campaigns there is one that stand out on one’s own: The Lessons of Seduction. These lessons started in 1993 as a way to show the new Aubade collections. In each one short advices was given to make your parner fall at your feet.

They called famous photographers like Bernar Matussière, Hervè Bruhat, Hervè Lewis and Michel Perez to capture the essence of the Aubade woman: feminine, classy and elegant but at the same time bold, daring and playful. The absence of the model’s face is other characteristic of the Aubade lessons so it’s easier for a woman to feel identified with the model in the picture and the black and white pictures gives to each lesson an almost magic and romantic look that emphasizes the feeling of Aubade as a luxury brand.

Fourteen years and eighty lessons have passed. During this time things have changed and this is also captured in the lessons. Recently, Aubade released underwear garment for men and male models appeared in the lessons. In these lessons, romanticism is combined with passion providing the picture with sensuality and magnetism. Aubade has developed a delicious method to show their collection and I hope this will last long for the sake of those who love lingerie and art.