Lingerie Insight July 2011

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JULY 2011 /VOL. 02 ISSUE 07

www.lingerieinsight.com

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR LINGERIE & SWIMWEAR PROFESSIONALS

TWO C-UPDiscover the brands that are

pushing the boundaries in bust

bo os ti ng bras

ZEROTOLERANCELearn about copyrig ht and how it

could impact on your business

MODE CITY

DMU

BRETTLEOF BELPER

NEWPRODUCT

LINGERIECOLLECTIVECOMPETITIONVIEWTHEDESIGNSOFTHISYEARSWINNINGSTUDENTS

Agent Provocateurs CEO talk sinternational expansion

NAUGHTY

MARLIESAND MEDesigner Marlies Dekkers

discusses her inspiration

and recent court battle

JULY 2011 / VOL. 02 ISSUE 07



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FRONT

REGULARS

News Review

A round-up of this months lingerie and retail news.

First Stitch

We take a look at the work of LCF student Joanna Smith.

Voice of the Industry

Perfect Fits Lynn Young on the future of the High Street.

Speakers Corner

Industry experts talk about when tweeting becomes

twittering in business.

Luxuriously Naughty

Agent Provocateur CEO Garry Hogarth discusses the

companys plans for rapid growth.

Lingerie Collective Competition Winners

Meet the winners of our Lingerie Collective competition.

Two C-up

Discover the big names investing in bust boosting bras.

Zero Tolerance

imothy OCallaghan explains the copyright issues that are

throwing the lingerie industry into disarray.

Marlies & Me

Marlies Dekkers talks design inspiration and court battles.

Paris Style

We preview exhibitors of the Mode City 2011 trade show.

De Montfort Designs

View our picks from the DMU graduates nal year designs.

Brettles of Britain

Gary Spendlove delves into the history of Brettles of Belper.

ON THE COVER

Object of Desire

Te high end piece that has the industry talk ing this month.

Products ShowcaseAn inspirational selection of brand new lingerie.

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COMMENT

LINGERIEINSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.co.uk

The UK LingerieAwards has been

gaining serious

momentum this

month, with

thousands of

people taking to the website to

submit their nominations and

make their voices heard.

We are overjoyed to introduce two

new Gold Partners to the event, Speed-

oSculpture and Melas Group (Jonathan

Aston, Charnos Hosiery and Levante).

As two of the most prestigious names in

todays hosiery and swimwear sectors,

they will add huge weight to what is to

be the intimate apparel industrys rst

major national awards ceremony.

alking of big names in the industry,

LI has interviewed Agent Provocateurs

Garry Hogarth in this months issue. Te

retail brand is the ideal example of a com-

pany that has successfully established

itself as a label to be reckoned with in the

realm of public recognition.

ITP PROMEDIA PUBLISHING

16A Baldwins Gardens , London, EC1N 7RJ, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 31 764228

Fax: +44 (0) 20 31 764231

EDITORIAL

EDITOR Kat Slowe,

[email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS

TImothy OCallaghan

COMMERCIAL

SALES MANAGER Andrew Martyniuk,

[email protected]

STUDIO

GROUP ART EDITORDaniel Prescott,

[email protected]

DESIGNERLucy McMurray

DIGITAL

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Hitendra Molleti, [email protected]

ONLINE PRODUCTIONErnesto Ceralde,

Rose Yorobe

PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION

GROUP PRODUCTION

& DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR

Kyle Smith, [email protected]

DEPUTY PRODUCTION MANAGER

Matthew Grant, [email protected]

DATABASE MANAGEMENTManju Sajeesh,

[email protected]

CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE

+971 4 286 8559

Web:www.lingerieinsight.com

Printed by:Wyndeham Grange

The publishers regret that they cannot accept li-

ability for error or omissions in this publication,

however caused. The opinions and views contained

in this publication are not necessarily those of the

publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist

advice before acting on information contained in this

publication, which is provided for general use and

may not be appropriate for the readers particular

circumstances.

The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. Nopart of this publication or any part of the contents

thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

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mission of the publishers in writing. An exception is

hereby granted for extrac ts used for the purpose of

fair review.

Published by and copyright 2011

Promedia Ltd, incorporated and

registered in the British Virgin Islandsunder company number 1559854.

It is not easy to make a mark in thissector and, in light of this, we have two

areas in which we are seeking to high-

light these up and coming designers, this

month. In June, we founded an online-

competition with Te Lingerie Collective,

where the two students who gained the

most votes would go on to exhibit at Te

Lingerie Collective trade show at Te

Music Room in July.

We are delighted to be able to intro-

duce you to the winners and reveal some

images of their cutting edge creations.

We are also showcasing a selection of

designs from De Montfort Universitys

nal year Contour Fashion and Fashion

& Contour students. It is an honour to be

able to bring you the fruits of the imagi-

nation of these talented individuals, who

will no doubt be making major waves in

the industry in the years to come.

KAT SLOWE

EDITOR

[email protected]

Image: Gossard

Model:Elle Liberachi

Photographer: Ruan van der Sande

Model wears:Te corselette on the cover of this

months issue is a new SS12 style for Gossards Ooh la

la range.

Key features include chantilly lace, pin stitching and

wide satin elastic at the waist for an hourglass shape.

Te piece can be worn with or without straps for

versatility and it also features a concealed easy side zip

fastening and suspenders. It will launch in both blackand antique ivory.

JULY COVER

Timothy OCallaghan is a solicitor and partner

of Mayfair law firm Arnold Fooks Chadwick LLP; he

specialises in advice to fashion companies on the

full range of legal issues which they encounter and

has built a particular reputation advising intimate

apparel businesses. He lectures regularly at the

U.K fashion and Textile Association and his fashion

clients include many household names.

THIS MON THS CON TRIBUTOR


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NEWS REVIEW /FRONT

www.lingerieinsight.com /JULY 2011 /LINGERIEINSIGHT

THIS MONTH IN LINGERIE AND SWIMWEAR

After just four short

years of launching in

the U.S., Los Angeles,

California based

lingerie brand Affi nitas is taking its

Stateside success global.

Currently distributing in the

United States, Canada, the UnitedKingdom, Greece, Australia, New

Zealand, Singapore and Japan, the

rapidly expanding lingerie com-

pany is now seeking established

sales agents in France, along with

distributors in Germany, Italy,

Spain, Te Netherlands, Portugal,

Russia, South America and else-

where worldwide.

Tis has been the mission of

Affi nitas since our launch in 2007,

and we will continue to work hard

to fulll this mission in the future,

said Affi nitas president Keng

Zhang.

Offering lingerie in two ranges,

Affi nitas is comprised of the Affi ni-

tas Intimates range and the Parfait

by Affi nitas (full bust) range. Af-nitas Intimates bras, bustiers and

babydolls span sizes 30-38, A-DD,

with camisoles, chemises and bot-

toms (thong, hipster and bikini

styles) sized XS-XL. New, compli-

mentary line Parfait by Affi nitas

targets the full bust market, offer-

ing bras, bustiers and babydolls in

sizes 30D - 40G, with coordinating

bottoms sized XS 2X.

Te introduction of Parfait by

Affi nitas last year was really key to

our own acceptance on the British

market as there is such demand

here (and throughout Europe) for

stylish, fresh designs in larger cup

sizes, said Europeans sales man-

ager Rebecca Spiers.

Now, thanks to the loyalty ofour growing customer base here

in the UK and in France, we are

establishing our warehouse base in

the UK next month to even better

serve retailers with speedy deliver-

ies and smaller minimum orders.

Te company has signed an

agreement with Elite Group, a

UK logistic company specializes

in transportation, warehousing,

packing, shipping and other

logistics services to companies

domestically and internationally.

Elite Group will be warehousing,

packing and shipping products

from its UK distribution centres to

Affi nitas customers in the UK and

Europe.

Zhang said: Te UK distribu-tion centre will start serving the

brands customers in the UK and

across Europe as in mid-July.

Spiers added: Naturally, this

has also enabled us to be in an

excellent position to expand our

horizons and do business with our

European neighbours. We are ex-

cited to have appointments already

scheduled with distributors at

Mode City in Paris next month.

AFFINITAS PURSUES INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

FOR IMAGES OF THE SS12 COLLECTIONS AND DAILY BREAKING NEWS VISIT

NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS IN QUOTES

GRADUATE FOCUS

VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY

SPEAKERS CORNER

CALENDARWEB HIGHLIGHTS

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FRONT/NEWS REVIEW

LINGERIEINSIGHT /JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.com

Luxury lingerie retailer Rigby

& Peller claims to have avoided

the recession with its most suc-

cessful sale to date.

he Queens corsetiere

achieved a 50 percent sell

through store-wide in the first

five days of it sale on lingerie,

swimwear and nightwear lines.

he sale was originally

planned to run longer, but the

unprecedented response from

customers reportedly had the

retailer already reviewing its

stock to identify lines which

could possibly be utilised to

bolster the sale offering.

Baci Lingeriehas announced

the grand opening of its latest

mono brand store.

he launch in Budapest,

Hungary, is the latest in a seriesof new openings around the

world and report edly at tra cted

large crowds of shoppers within

the capital.

Baci Lingerie is currently

preparing to launch 3,000

stores worldwide in the next

six years.

It already has stores planned

to open in the next three

months in countries such as

Scandinavia, UAE, UK, Spain,

Holland, Germany, Mexico andLithuania.

Brand founder Niki McMor-

rough said: We are so thrilled

that Daisy fell in love with the

Knockout ank Dress. Its such

a versatile piece that can be

styled as underwear, outerwear,sportswear or shapewear. Dai-

sys a cool and sassy la dy, and

she rocks in Made by Niki!

Nottingham based swimwear

label Pistol Pantieslaunched

its first lingerie range at de-

partment store John Lewis last

month.

he DISCO collection in-

cludes three styles, the Belle

balcony, the Juliet balcony and

the Polly t-shirt, a ll with briefs

and shorts.

It features micro-fibre fabrics

in a colour palate of pale pink

and dusky blue, and comes in

three varying Liberty prints

Sophies blossom, Wiltshire

and Mauveri na.

Lingerie brand Bravissimo

launched its first J cup plunge

bra in June.

he French bow bra features

an ivory and coral stripe, and

the Poppy bra comes in a black

and red print.

It comes in two st yles, French

Bow and Poppy, and is available

in sizes 28 to 38 in DD to J c up.

A mat chi ng brief and thong

are also offered in both st yles

from XS to 2XL

Dawn Frenchhas been spot-

ted shopping at lingerie retailer

Ann Summers w ith a myster y

man in tow.

Te actress, who starred

as Geraldine Granger in the

Vica r of Dibley for 13 years holy

ditched any religious preten-

sions as she entered into the

store in Soho.

French, who divorced hus-

band of 25 years Lenny Henry 18

months ago, left clutching a bag

of products. Te actress report-

edly has a new boyfriend from

outside the show business world.

Usherhas announced that

he would like g irl of the moment

Pippa Middleton to become the

face of his new lingerie brand.

Middleton, whose rear assets

have been applauded since her ap-

pearance as maid of honour at her

sisters wedding, could soon be

approached by the RnB star.

I dont think theres a more

beautiful, more stunning, more

talked-about woman in the world

at the moment, Usher recently

told Look magazine. Im goingto be approaching her in the next

few weeks and setting up a meet-

ing this summer.

NEWS REVIEWLingerie retailer La Senzaintro-

duced the riple Gel Strapless

bra last month.

his is the first st rapless

version of the product, which

claims to enhance the appear-ance of a womans bust by two

cup sizes.

here have been a spate of

bras launched over the past

yea r th at clai m to give women

an additional two a lphabet

letters.

hese include Marks & Spen-

cers 2 Sizes Bigger bra and

Wonderbras Fu ll Ef fect piece.

Victor ias Secrets Mir acu lous

product is also reported to do

the job - the US retailer wil l be

launching in the UK next year.

amara Ecclestone, daughter

of Formula 1 boss Bernie Eccle-

stone, has landed a prestigious

new job modelling for Ultimo

lingerie.

Wit h her new role , Ecclestone

wi ll be followi ng i n the foo t-

steps of stars Kelly Brook and

Mel B, both of whom were for-

mer ambassadors of the brand.

he new face of the brandwas photographed i n a s eries

of pieces, including a black and

white polk a dot set , leopard

print bras, and black and red

floral designs. She also wore a

classic black, push-up style bra.

Daisy Lowe has been spotted

wea ring lin ger ie f rom luxur y

lingerie brand Made By Niki .

he piece is part of Made By

Niki s Knockout collection,

which combines hig h fashionand sport-luxe characteristics.


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NEWS REVIEW /FRONT


I hope to have my own jewellery line, plus lingerie

and cashmere. Thats where I see myself in five or 10

years. Designing.

Supermodel and Transformers actress ROSIE HUNTINGTON-WHITELY

talks about her plans to eventually start her own lingerie line.

Vanessa was absolutely the right person to go

undercover, although when I first asked her to go

undercover she wasnt that keen; that might have

been more to do w ith t he wig she had to wear

though!

Ann Summers chief executive JACQUELINE GOLDtalks about her

sister, the retailers new managing director, participating in Channel 4s

Undercover Boss programme.

I dont think theres a more beautiful, more stunnin g,

more talked-about woman in the world at the

moment,

US singer USHERon why he wants the new Duchess of Cambridges

sister PIPPA MIDDLETONto front his lingerie brand.

Our store managers have reported that as well as

the fantastic response to our sale, our clients are justas eager to purchase full pr ice product whilst taking

advantage of the fantastic sale prices.

Rigby & Peller director DAVID KENTON on how the retailer has avoided

the recession with its most successful sale to date.

Just check a Monopoly board. Go past the Strand,

Leicester Square, Regent Street and Park Lane a nd

look for Mayfair. Youll f ind the UK Li ngerie Awards

at Number One.

Lingerie Insight editor KAT SLOWE opens up about the location of this

years inaugural UK Lingerie Awards.

NEWS IN QUOTES

>> Something to say? Email [email protected]


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FRONT/NEWS REVIEW


Reality star Kim Kardashian

was spotted shopping at lu xury

lingerie retailer La Perlanear

Los Angeles last month.

Kardashian, who is set to

wed basketbal l player Kris

Humphries this year, browsed

the store wearing a form-tting

pencil skirt and carry ing a neon

yellow Hermes Birki n.

Te model, who is a fan of

Spanx underwear, has already

revealed that she has plans to

slim down for the big day.

Online boutique Esty Linge-

rie has launched its rst own

branded collection, designed by

Estelle Puleston, the 21-year old

student who founded the com-

pany in 2009.

Buttercup, a luxu ry lingerie

line handmade entirely in the

UK, is made from lace and satin,

and features a delicate palette of

white and lemon yellow.

Te range includes a corset, a

wrap, a ba by dol l and a ser ies of

bra sets.

Brazilian shapewear brand

Plihas reported extraordi-

nary demand for the new Base

Nude colourway in its Control

shapewear range, soft launched

three weeks ago.

Te Base Nude classic brief

style sold out the day after stock

arrived from the factory. Te

offi cia l release of the new Nude

will be at Pl is show ing at Mode

City, this July.Pli Europe will be providing

Joanna Smith is a 3rd year Fash-

ion Contour student (BA hons) at

London College of Fashion.

Smith is currently completing

a placement year with Damaris

and Mimi Holliday, where she has

recently been promoted to a sales

role dealing with buyers such as

Selfridges, Harrods and Fenwicks.

The young, experimental de-

signer already possesses several

qualifications, such as an Art and

Design BTEC and a national diplo-

ma at University of the Arts. Past

work includes industry briefs with

The Royal Ballet, Speedo, Deben-

hams and Sony Ericsson.

FIRST STITCHCELEBRATING EMERGING TALENT

>> Are you a student or recent graduate and want to be featured

in First Stitch? Email [email protected]

AGENT PROVOCATEUR, MADISON AVENUE, US

STORE ENVY

>> Got a Store Envy suggestion? Email [email protected]

British lingerie brand Agent Provoca-

teur opened its newflagship boutique

on Madison Avenue earlier this year.

The grand double-height entrance

lobby features mirror-panelled walls

and an original 1970s chandelier. This

leads into the main store space with

floor-to-ceiling black lacquer furniture,

pink leather and gold hardware.

A new concept hosiery library

adds a quirky detail to the space,

complete with black lacquer ladder

and polished brass fixings. A salon

area features a fireplace, seating and

freestanding displayfixtures based on

classic 1970s tagre displays. There

are four fitting rooms finished with be-

spoke pink, grey and black graduate

dye silk crepe curtains and baby pink

silk walls with chinoiserie design.

A conservatory at the back of the

store is designed in the style of an or-

angery filled with antique seating, bird-

cages and rouched lace drapes. The

mezzazine floor is an area designed

to hold private appointments.

NEWS REVIEWfree point of sale material to its

boutiques and has new images

of the Nude Base colour, along

wit h new bo oklet s, to give out to

consumers.

Lingerie label Ma Mignon-

nettehas launched the bespoke

Love Pocket Knickers, this

month, to the wider market.

Te product was previously

only commissioned for private

customers, including singer

Gwen Stefani, Hollywood ac-

tresses Gemma Arterton, Emma

Watson , Tandie Newton, su-

permodels Lily Cole, Rosie Hun-

tington-Whiteley, Amber Le Bon

and the Jagger sisters (Lizzie &

Georgia).

Te special knickers feature a

ruby contrast back pocket em-

broidered with a sweet word or

monogrammed initials of your

choice. Te pocket is perfectly

sized for holding a note from

your lover, a French letter or

perhaps an engagement ring...

New lingerie brand Ryder &

Rowelaunches this season with

its rst collection, inspired by

the life and work of F. Scott

Fitzgerald . Te brand was es-

tablished by design trio Al isonMcCann, Naomi Ryder and Den-

nis Nothdruft.

Al ison McCan n has over 15

years ex perience i n the fashion

industry and recently curated

the Undercover: Te evolution

of underwear exhibition at the

Fashion & extile Museum.

Naomi Ryder is a textile de-

signer and illustrator specialis-

ing in embroidery. Her range

of interior design products

includes a collection of em-broidered handmade cushions,


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FRONT/NEWS REVIEW


Te UK Lingerie Awardshas

added an additional category

to the mix, Lingerie Insight can

reveal.

Industry members and the

public will now be able to submitnominations online for Sports-

wear Brand of the Year.

Te decision was made after it

was decided that sports under-

wear was too big a sector to omit,

particularly in light of the up-

coming Olympics, which is sure

to shine a spotlight on this area

of intimate apparel.

Debenhams will be introduc-

ing its own brand of sleepwear in

time for Christmas, 2011, Lingerie

Insight can exclusively reveal.

Te new range, which is de-

scribed as a younger, casual, fash-

ion handwriting in sleepwear,

will be part of a push from the

department store to expand its

presence in the sector.

Debenhams head of lingerie

buying and design Sharon Webb

said: We have got a really big

focus on sleepwear for the back

end of autumn. We have got a new

team in place, new buyer, new

designer...

Lingerie and swimwear brand

Freyaappeared last month at

X Factor auditions across the

country.

Te brand showed video clips

on giant LED screens to all those

queuing for the chance to see

Louis, Gary Barlow, Kelly Row-

land and ulisa from N-Dubz.

Each video clip revealed Freyas

collections for SS11 and was

shown continually throughout

the day over the 12 days of audi-

tions.

Tose queuing for the audi-

tions also had the chance to win

a years supply of Freya lingerie

simply by scanning the QR code

on the screen or going through to

a specic web page to enter.

On the eve of the launch,

Eveden head of marketing Ann-

Marie said: We have been eagerly

awaiting this years X-Factor. We

are incredibly excited to be ap-

pearing at the auditions and hope

that the notoriously large crowds

and queues of hopeful stars enjoy

checking out our lingerie and

swimwear collections for SS11.

Online retailer If You Pleasehas

announced the re-launch of its

online boutique.

Te website, which went live in

December 2011, has been re-de-

signed following comments and

feedback from customers.

Te new site reportedly runs

a lot faster and features quick

search solutions, such as new size

and colour lters. Customers are

also now able to shop using theirBlackberry or iPhone.


I

was reading with interest a

story in the news review of

Lingerie Insight, regarding Mary

Portas being called in to lead an

independent review into the future of

the High Street.

I would like to tell her of our story

in Keynsham - that is K E Y N S H A M,

as in the Horace Batchelor advert on

radio Luxemburg back in the sixties.

I am chairperson of the Business

Association in the town, as well as

owner of an independent retail outlet

and it is a very big concern to us all

how the High Street survives.

Our local council - Bath &North East Somerset - has a huge

regeneration plan of renewing the

town centre with offices, leisure and

retail. Because of the change in local

politics, this may take longer than

expected (there should be no politics

in the High Street).

Our view is the High Street has to

change. There needs to be a relaxed

atmosphere, where people can feel

comfortable, trees, shrubs, places

to sit, pedestrianisation and small

independent shops. The council hasto reduce rates and encourage people

to spend their redundancy money

on new dreams in business in a

small way. The small towns also need

free parking for at least two hours

to combat the large shopping malls

parking facilities.

In my job as Chair, I have to keep

a positive attitude through our

meetings in order to maintain high

spirits. It is very hard for traders to

remain thus when businesses are

closing down around them. It helps

to offer a service that no one else

can provide and people today want a

bargain, so a sales area is always good.

I have been in business for 20years. It is our 20th anniversary, this

Sept 5. Building my shop, Perfect

Fit, into a big business took years

of hard work. We started with three

members of staff and small premises,

and expanded to 14 staff, quadrupling

in size. My stock started with 6,000

worth to a now, unmentionable figure.

We offer a specialized service of fitting

ladies underwear, which has been our

saviour, because we get it right and

lots of big stores get it wrong. I would

love to contribute to Mary Portasregarding her independent review.

The High Street

has to change

LYNN YOUNG

owner, Perfect Fit

NEWS REVIEW

>> Got a story? Email [email protected]


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NEWS REVIEW /FRONT

www.lingerieinsight.com /JULY 2011 / LINGERIEINSIGHT

When your twitter updates havegone from tentative company news

to how much better youd be on

The Apprentice, it might be time to

take a step back. While its important

that followers know that youre not

just a business, it pays to remember

that the majority of your followers

are competing companies, potential

consumers, clients and colleagues,

and they are following your company,

not you. So, as interesting as your

X-Factor tips are, maybe exciting

company news, relevant media stories

or even company pictures would be

more appropriate.

Twitter is a fun tool and tweetsshould be light-hearted and

humorous: not repetitive and a

hard sell. A tweet should seduce

a customer, reminding them how

glamorous and exciting a brand is:

not bombard them with messages

to buy, buy, buy. Tweeters

should always remember that

theyre representing their

brand and a tweet ab out silky

French knickers in Vogue Italia

shouldnt be followed by news

that the warehouse has run out

of biscuits Laduree mac arons

excepted!

At Pli Europe, we jumped on thesocial networking bandwagon quite

early with both FaceBook and Twitter.

Twitter proved next to useless as a

business tool - Facebook has proved

to be immeasurably valuable. I believe

that Twitter wont remain a free-to-use

service for much longer. At heart,

its a highly sophisticated broadcast

service working best when providing

journalists and the general public with

red hot updates on the famous and/or

rich. Id love a celebrity to tweet about

us, but that wouldnt be free and its

too early to know if Tweet-vertising

would be useful or cost-effective.

PENNY CLAYTON

director of European

operations, Bravado Designs

JOHN PEARCE

sales and marketing

director, Plie Europe

KATIE HALFORD

founder,

What Katie Did

WHEN DOES TWEETING BECOME TWITTERING IN BUSINESS?

SPEAKERS CORNER

ANN SUMMERS has announced that it will be featuring in hit

Channel 4 production, Undercover Boss.

Thefirst episode of the TV programme, airi ng on July 5, fol-

lows new managing director Vanessa Gold on her journey asshe goes undercover to discover how much hard work goes on

behind the scenes both in store and at the famous Ann Sum-

mers Parties.

Thefilming takes Vanessa across the country to visit several

of Ann Summers 150 stores. There, as part of the undercover

process, she has the opportunity to meet t he teams and

observe them at work. Whilst working alongside the

teams in store, Vanessa reportedly meets a number

of inspirational colleagues - oblivious to Vanes-

sas true identity, they open up to their visitor and

explain what working for Ann Summers means to

them, revealing their opinions and ideas for their

stores and the company.

NEWS FLASH

For more

news visit

www.lingeriein-

sight.com

DIARY DATES

3-5th July, Music Roo ms, London .

The Lingerie Collective Show,

reportedly a favourite of depart-

ment store Selfridges, ex hibitshigh end, fashion-forward

brands. Past exhibitors have in-

cluded Marlies Dekkers, Fred and

Ginger, Chantal Tomass, Black

Neon and Eternal Spirits.

9-11th July, Porte de Versailles,

Paris. Mode City is an event that

brings together retailers, buyers,

designers, brands and manufac-

tures within the swimwear and

lingerie industry. Guests travel

from around the world to attend

the event from sectors including

lingerie, clothing, couture, body-

wear and sportswear.

16-19th July, Miami Beach Con-

vention Centre, Miami. Often

described as the most compre-

hensive swimwear show in the

world, Miami SwimShowwill

be announcing the launch of the

inaugural LingerieShow at this

years event. Te move is ta king

place in response to the needs of

buyers and vendors within what

has been described as an increas-

ingly synergetic market.

26-28th July, Cranmo re Park, Soli-

hull.The AIS Lingerie & Legwear

show,which attracts primarily

independent retailers, will fea-

ture lingerie, nightwear and ho-

siery from both mainstream and

emerging brands.

28th July, Jalouse, Londo n.CiCi

PR & Eventswill be hosting

a branded showcase at elite

members club Jalouse, situated

within the media hub of Hano -

ver Square , London. A hand ful of

selected high end brands, includ-

ing CiCi Pr clients, will showcase

their AW11 /SS12 collections

within the press day st yle event.

Participating brands i nclude

Nardis Beach, Lisa Blue, MyaB-

lueBeach, allulah Love and oneother label tbc.


12/6410

FRONT/NEWS REVIEW


1 GALLERY: Lingerie Collective

competition finalists

2 UK Lingerie Awards

nominations hotting up

3 300 undress for DesigualSemi-Naked event

4 Fraulein Annie brings louche60s glamour to lines

5 Ann Summers to be inChannel 4s Undercover Boss

6

GALLERY: Contour Ball 2011

7 GALL ERY: DMU LondonCatwalk Graduate Show

8 Lingerie Collective picks 2competition winners

9 Freya gains the X Factor

1 0 E sty Lingerie stocks newbran d C hr is ti na Rut h

MOST READ ONLINE EDITORS CHOICE

GALLERY

DMU London Catwalk Grad-uate ShowContour Fashion and Fashion & Contour

students show off their nal year designs.

COLLECTION

Panache SS12 rangesLingerie company Panache showcases its

brands offerings for Spring Summer 2012.

NEWS

Freya gains the X FactorLingerie brand Freya appears at X-Factor

auditions around the country.

VIDEO

LI TV: Dirty Pretty Thingswebsite launch party

We go behi nd-the-scenes of the event at

The Lingerie Collective.

Im always advising biz to identify their

point of difference. Whats ur USP what

makes u stand out? Tweet me urs & I will

RT best 3.

@Jacqueline_Gold

The lovely ladies at @WhatKatieDidLDN

just helped me buy a corset and some

undies. Thanks girls!

@gutnahofski

RT, Follow and vote @curvykate in the

UK Lingerie awards for your chance to

#WIN a lingerie set!

@CurvyKate

Dear Jim, Please can you fix it for me to

be mid-July already and sunning with my

family and man in the sunshine. Thank

you. Claire Merry.

@claire_merry

Im alwa

poin of di

makes u s

T best 3.

@Ja c u

The vel

just helpe

LINGERIE TWEETS


13/64

BANGKOK BARCELONA BEIJING BOGOTA BUENOS AIRES FRANKFURT GENEVA GUANGZHOU HONG KONG ISTANBUL

MELBOURNE MEXICO CITY MILAN NEW DELHI NEW YORK SAO PAULO SEOUL SHANGHAI TAIPEI TOKYO

INVISTA APPAREL : INNOVATIONS IN THE MAKING

Enquiries: [email protected] www.LYCRA.com

Extending

LYCRAbeauty fabric

The LYCRAbeauty fabric collection is the secret to

comfort and outstanding shaping for diverse shapewear

categories and fabrics including lace and seamless.

Let us introduce you to newness in LYCRAbeauty fabric

atMode City, Hall 1, stand M64 N75.


14/6412

AGENT PROVOCATEUR/INTERVIEW

LINGERIEINSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.com

AGENT PROVOCATEUR

CHIEF EXECUTIVE GARRY

HOGARTHTALKS TO

KAT SLOWE ABOUT THE

COMPANYS PLANS FOR

EXPANSION, ITS NEW

VENTURE INTO BEDDING

AND WHY HE PREFERSWORKING FOR A BRAND.

She likes to describe it as

luxuriously naughty, Agent

Provocateur chief executive

Garry Hogarth says of crea-

tive director Sarah Shot-

tons design mentalit y. Its by wom-

en for women. When Shotton took

over from Joseph, she created designs

to make women feel condent, sexy

and comfortable rather than concen-trating on what blokes fanc y.

And, it is not just design that is

progressing since former creative

designer Joseph Corre who notori-

ously refused an MBE back in 2007

- sold the business to private equity

business 3i.

Te sale famously took place after

Corre, the son of British designer Vivi-

enne Westwood, divorced wife and

co-founder Serena Rees. It was afterthis change in ownership took place

1

ATEUR / INTERVIEW

1

Laurie SS11

campaign image

NAUGHTY

Luuriusly


15/64 13

INTERVIEW /AGENT PROVOCATEUR


that Hogarth was brought on board to take the helm and a new

strategy for expansion was born.

Hogarth informs us that he is planning to double the number of

Agent Provo cateu r stores around t he world over the next ve yearsat an average rate of around 11 a year.

Te company will be primarily concentrating on the US, Chinese

and Russian markets. A sixth store will open in Moscow, this July,

with fur ther out lets predicted to rol l out in the cit y and across the

Soviet Union in the ensuing months.

Agent Provo cateu r als o has pl ans t o open it s rst store in A m-

sterdam, Holla nd, before the end of 2011.

Hogarth says: We have 55 outlets at the moment and the plan

over the next four to ve years is to double that. And thats a combi-

nation of stores and franchises... From this year, America is now our

biggest market and we have a number of new stores in the pipeline.

Hogarth will be visiting Japan and Singapore this month to check

out potential franchise partners in the countries.

We have got some potential franchise partners that want to

work with us t here, he says . Because we a lways f ranchise stores

in that sort of area, rather than operate them ourselves. It is a bit

complicated.

Te Middle East will also see a series of new outlets being

launched. Agent Provocateurs distributor in the Middle East cur-

rently operates four shops in the region, with another store opening

early next year in Kuwait.

We just opened in Beirut about two weeks ago, Hogarth says.

It is a pretty cool place, Beirut, actually. It is very French and styl-

ish, and most of the luxury brands are there. I recently met with our

Middle Eastern distributor in Kuwait and he is busy exploring the

multiple opportunities for expansion in the region.

Te companys plans for rapid expansion played a signicant

part in the appointment of its new non-executive chairman Chris

Woodhou se. Woodhouse is a d irector of Debenhams a nd cha irman

of Gondola Group Limited, the holdi ng company for a series of res-

taurant brands including Pizza Ex press, ASK, Zizzi and Byron.

He was introduced to Agent Provocateur through 3is Business

Leaders Network, a pool of high calibre business leaders who work

closely with 3i and its portfolio companies across the world. Te

new non-executive chairman takes over the role from Kim Winser,

who lef t Agent Provocateur i n January, this year, under a cloud of

controversy.

Hes really good, Hogart h says. He comes from a position asnance director of Debenhams, but he has been involved within

var ious buy outs with Homebase, Hal fords a nd then Debenhams, so

he is very strong strategically and, nancially, I think he will really

help with working out all the numbers.

Kim Winser came in and really helped us re-position the brand,

and get more press, and marketing, and things. We pretty much did

that and we have strong marketing, and now I sort of think we are

back in the place that we should be .

And e xpa nsion is not the only project that Agent Provocateur

is currently embarking on. It will be announcing a new face of the

brand, this August, on the launch of its Autumn Winter campaign.

Hogarth refuses to reveal the identity of the model, but claims that

she is a recognised name and that the images shot last month are sizzling hot.

What?The UK Lingerie Awardsare the ultimate accolades

for the British intimateapparel industry

www.uklingerieawards.com

G O L D S P O N S O R S


16/6414

AGENT PROVOCATEUR/INTERVIEW

LINGERIEINSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.com

latest product, set to hit stores this

September.

Te company will be introducing

bedding to its portfolio of lingerie,perfume and sunglasses. Te new

luxury item, which comes in off

white, claret s, cha rcoal grey and

prints, is aimed at luxur y department

stores such as Selfridges and quality

independent stores.

It is excellent quality and that is

the key, really, Hogarth adds, be-

cause it is quite hard to nd amazing

bedding.

We are looking at various prod-

ucts that we think t in with the

brand and it didnt have to be bed-

ding at this point, but we just found

the right partner to work with.

Te freedom to explore new av-

enues is key to Hogarth, who effec-

tively has always been his own boss

and, up until this year, never even

2

2

Juno SS1 1

campaign image

3

Fenella SS 11

campaign image

Tey are smouldering, he says.

Te person we have picked is really

spot-on for the brand, so hopefully

everyone will be pleased and excitedabout it.

According to the chief executive,

after the model saw the rst images,

she announced that she was unsat-

ised with how she appeared and

requested that they could be shot

again. Against his better judgement,

the photographer re-shot the photos

and the pictures came out even bet-

ter than before.

Tey were hot! Hogarth says. I

asked her what she had done differ-

ently and she told me I was thinking

of a naughty, sexual fantasy.

Whi le Agent Provocat eur may be

becoming more female orientated,

sex and the bedroom remain at the

heart of the brands offering. Nothing

makes this clearer than the brands

Biography

Garry Hogarth is cur-rently the chief execu-

tive of lingerie brand

and retailer Agent

Provocateur.

Hogarth began his

career as a supplier

and set up his own

accessories supply

busines s, called Fas t

Forward, in 1988.

In 1999, the com-

pany was sold to Lambert Howarth, a larger footwear

supply group, of which Hogarth subsequently became

chief executive in 2000.

After his resignation in June 2006, Hogarth chose to

leave the supply sector and started working as a consult-

ant at Agent Provocateur. Upon the sale of the business in

2007 to private equity group 3i, he was requested to take

over as chief executive and the rest is, as they say, history.


17/64 15

INTERVIEW /AGENT PROVOCATEUR


had a CV.

And Agent Provocateur reect s the autonomy of its chief execu-

tive, not looking to any other designers of fashion labels for inspira-

tion, but instead working purely on what it considers will be liked

by its customers, independent of trends.

Hogarth says: We are not interested in what any other lingerie

company or fashion label is doing. .. We just do what we want to do

it is pure design.

Te ability to do this stems from Agent Provocateurs position as

a retail brand. Unlike many other companies, which operate solely

as a brand or a retai ler, Agent Provocateur is i n control of the whole

process, from picking the fabrics through to product design, organ-

ising the manufacturing and ultimately selling.

Tough his current position is the rst time that Hogarth has

worked for a bra nd, he cla ims to greatly enjoy the process and is

relieved to no longer be in t he supply side of the industry, which he

says has become increasingly di ffi cult in the past few yea rs. As thefounder of a company that used to supply the hig h street and M&S

in the eighties and nineties, Hogarth is well aware of the challenges

that the market presents.

I think the retailers are getting tougher, he says. I am sure

some people still make money, but I think the margins are tighter

and it is a lot more diffi cult. I am pleased t o get out of it. I th ink that

was the heyday for that sort of business , but I wou ldnt want to be

in it today. I think it is much better to be w ith a brand.

It is little surpr ise that Hogarth feels this way. With a growth

in underlying prots last year of 45 percent to 1.2m, Agent Provo-

cateur has been defying the economic downturn and the next ve

years look to see this gu re soar even higher.

Luckily, as the agent driving this success, it seems unlikely thatHogarth will be needing a CV anytime soon.

3

Where?The spectacular dinner

and party will take place atLondons hottest address

One Mayfair




18/6416

LINGERIE COLLECTIVE COMPETITION WINNERS/PROFILE

LINGERIEINSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.co.uk

Lingerie Collective

Competition Winners

During Christinas time at De

Montfort University, she worked with

Di Murini Mio Destinos mastecto-

my brand. She also completed indus-

try projects for Gilly Hicks, riumph,

Curv y Kate and Ace Style, where she

designed a conceptual lingerie set

which was exhibited at the Moda

tradeshow earlier this year.

Learning to make bras from

scratch with such expertise at hand

has made it a very enjoyable experi-

ence at De Montfort, Christina says.

It has been the best decision I made

to return to my hometown, Leices-

ter, to study this course.

Christinas style focuses on the

romantic and ber feminine, tak-

ing inspiration from luxury interi-

ors and photography. Focusing on

intricate details and designing to

enhance womens condence, Chris-

tina is passionate about designing

lingerie as an outerwear option. She

seeks to transform the traditional

idea of lingerie as simply a second

skin to something that can also ex-

press ones personality, and hopesthis is a trend will continue through

the 21st Century.

Her boudoir lingerie graduate col-

lection was inspired by the interiors

of Royal palaces and vintage Louis

Vuitton travel trun ks, for which she

took a research trip to Blenheim Pal-

ace, Oxfordshire, and Paris to see the

exhibition Voyage En Capitale.

Each of the 15-piece silk collection

is encrusted with Swarovski-crystal-

lized French lace, lined in royal red

silk satin and hand n ished.Christinas work has been pub-

LINGERIE INSIGHTINTROD UCES YOU TO THE T WO EXTREMELY TALENTED STUDENTS

WHO WON OUR ONLINE COMPETITION TO GAIN A SPACE AT THE PRESTIGIOUS

LINGERIE CO LLECTIVE TRADE SHOW, THIS J ULY.

lished in the recent iss ue of the

fashion magazine Kindred Sole and

her graduate collection will also be

shown on Te Collection catwalk

alongside swimwear brand Paolita.Te event is being held at the Studio

Valbonne in Mayfa ir on Ju ly 8 and

is being hosted by fashioncapital.

co.uk.

Christina hopes to start a career

worki ng for high-end luxury lingerie

and evening-wear design houses in

London and eventually see her de-

signs stocked in department stores,

such as Selfridges.

You can fol low the g raduates jour-

ney through her blog www.christina-

bonnlux.blogspot.com or on witter:@ChristinaWbonn

1

De Montfo rt

University graduate

Christina Wan

2&3

Balconette bra

and supender

set created b y

Christina Wan

4

LCF st udent Bian ca

Laport a

5

Desi gn from B ianca

Lapor tas LCF

Speedo p roject

CHRISTINA WAN CONTOUR FASHION, DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY

ON WINNING THE LINGERIE

COLLECTIVE COMPETITION:

Winning a space at The Lingerie

Collective has been the icing on

the cake for me after having just

completed the BA(Hons) Contour

Fashion degree course at DMU.

I am extremely excited and

honoured to be able to exhibit

my graduate collection alongside

the most luxurious brands in

the lingerie industry such as my

favourites; Nichole de Carle and

Chantal Thomass. I am really

looking forward to the whole

experience of exhibiting my

collection at the trade show and

meeting professionals, providing

me with an understanding of the

sales and business side to the fast

paced lingerie industry.

t

I

t

t

f

l

1

2

i

c

w

a

L

si

su

e

b@

3


19/64 17

PROFILE /LINGERIE COLLECTIVE COMPETITION WINNERS


From an early age, Bianca lovedlingerie - the details, colours and

delicacy involved.

In the pursuit of her dream,

Bianca is studying Fashion

Contour at London College of

Fashion, where she says she

has learned the importance of

uniqueness. Te female form

is Biancas starting inspiration.

Designers Lanvin and Alberta

Ferretti are her favourites as,

like her, they also embrace female form in their designs.

Bianca recently nished her 3rd year, which involved working in three

industry placements: Harrods stockists, Lee Klabin, Ale and Asos.

Each gave me benecial experience that I will take into my nal year,

Bianca says. I experienced complex sculptural pattern cutting at Lee

Klabin and acted as a personal assistant at Ale. Tis gave me hands on

experience of running a small luxury label in the industry. Finally, with

Asos, while working in design, I created artworks and made jewellery for

press day. I was also given the opportunity to design pieces for the linge-

rie collections for the Autumn Winter 11 Christmas and Spring Summer

12 Valentines, which has been a real highlight for me.

Biancas achievements include a Ballet Russes/English National Ballet

project, which was exhibited at the

V&A Museum, where the pri-

ma ballerina wore it for a ballet

performance. Te professional

photo shoot for this project also

made it onto vogue.com.

My future aspirations, Bi-

anca reveals, are to get a steady

grounding in the industry work-

ing in supply/manufacture/buy-

ing, whilst designing freelance.

I hope to one day own my own

boutique, selling my own label

and others, like Mimi Holliday

and Stella McCartney.

When?The Awards kick off the

Christmas selling season on

September 7th7.30pm - late



the

5

BIANCA LAPORTA - FASHION CONTOUR,

LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION

ON WINNING THE LINGERIE COLLECTIVE COMPETITION:

In January, this year, I attended Salon International de la Lingerie

in Paris to help exhibit on the Ale stand as part of my placement.

The atmosphere and experience of doing this was amazing. When

Ifirst saw the competition on Lingerie Insight website, I got very

excited. What an incredible opportunity, showcasing my work at

the prestigious Lingerie Collective, I thought, this is my chance!

When I saw that I had won the opportunity to exhibit, I was filled

with euphoria and happiness. Sincefinishing placements, I have

been making lingerie at home and cannot wait to showcase it.

With the great recent press Ive had, each month keeps getting

better and better, and its a wonderful feeling.

Fli

d

B

F

i

4


20/64

BOOSTING BRAS/INVESTIGATION

18 LINGERIEINSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.co.uk

WITH THE WORLDS PRESS

CURRENTLY FOCUSING ON

THE 1950S AND THE FULLER

FIGURED WOMAN, THOSE

WITH SLIGHTER SILHOUETTES

COULD BE EXCUSED FOR

FEELING A LITTLE LEFT OUT.

LI SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE

BALANCE BY INVESTIGATING

THE NEW BOOSTING BRAS

THAT INCREASE THE

APPEARANCE OF THE BUST BY

TWO CUP SIZES.

B

igger is not always

better but it usually is.

A series of lingerie

brands have in the past

year been attempting to

outdo each other to create the biggest

bust. But, in an increasingly competi-

tive world, the bar has been ra ised.

No longer is it enough to increase the

appearance of a womans bust by a

single letter. Now it takes two.

It all started on the High Street

last year with a series of new prod-

uct launches by some of the biggest

names in intimate apparel retail, in-cluding La Senza, Ann Summers and

Marks & Spencer.

Marks & Spencer launched the apt-

ly titled 2 Sizes Bigger bra last August

amid a furore of media attention and

public frenzy.

Te retailer has since gone on to sell

one of the bras every minute its stores

are open.

Marks & Spencer head of lingerie

design Soozie Jenkinson says: Te

reason that we decided to launch the 2

Sizes Bigger bra was that we saw thatthere was a trend towards the return

TWOC-UP

1

Ann Summer s

Kissin g Cleava ge

bikini 1


21/64 19

INVESTIGATION /BOOSTING BRAS


2

3

of womens curves, the 1950s Mad

Men look.

We are also very aware of the huge

increase in women resorting to cos-metic surgery to increase their cup

size. Tat is very costly and, obviously,

painful and permanent. We thought

we would al low customers to get

the look without having to go under

the knife. It is like cosmetic surgery

without the surgery and was basical ly

a very affordable lingerie solution for

many women.

raditional push up bras will usu-

ally be lled w ith water, oil or air,

wrapped up in a type of plastic cookie

or pocket. Tis technology can, claims

the designer, prove very uncomfort-

able.

Te oil lled bras were actually

quite heavy and if you wanted to wear

the all day, it could actually be quite

uncomfortable after a few hours,

she says. As for the air, while it did

give you a push up shape, often they

actually created a look that wasnt

very nat ural . We wanted to develop

something that gave all that cleavage

enhancement, but actually looked very

natural to wear.

For the next season, Marks & Spen-

cer will be adding more prints to its

existing 2 Sizes Bigger range. It also

has plans to launch a new, strapless

version of the bra in time for Christ-

mas. Te product will be available in

plain and very smooth lace versions.

Mark & Spencer is not the only

retailer to see strapless as a natural

evolution of the two cup sizes biggerproduct.

La Senza launched the riple Gel

Strapless bra last month. Tis is the

retailers rst strapless version of the

product, which was launched in July

2010.

Te company also launched a

swimwear version of the riple Gel in

February, a step mirrored by fellow

High Street retailer Ann Summers two

months later.

Ann Su mmers launched its Instant

Boob Job bra, titled Kissing Cleavage,

in July, 2010. On the rst day of launch,

demand for the product reportedly

caused the retailers website to crash

and left stores empty as the bras sold

out within hours.

Te new bikini version, which 96

percent of women apparently claim

increases your bust by at least one

cup size, is the latest option to be in-

troduced by Ann Summers.

It features removable microbead

pads, which stay at a constant temper-

ature for the beach and do not weigh

down the cleavage when swimming.

On the Kissing Cleavage bikini

launch, an Ann Summers spokesper-

son says: Ann Summers has been tire-

lessly working with new technologists

to discover the answer to the ultimate

cleavage - without going under the

knife. We know that women want, and

need, to feel condent unveiling t heir

bikini bodies, and this range will g ive

you extra support whi lst making the

most of your assets .

We have nally d iscovered a

technology that lets women achieve

a cleavage without compromising

on comfort - the unique microbead

technology is ultra light and actually

moulds to the shape of your breast

and is shaped with a super plunge formaximum cleavage factor. No weighed

down pads, no sogginess and you can

forget an overheated bikini. You want

an instant boob job for your beach

holiday - youve got one.

M&Co senior lingerie, swimwear

and sleepwear buyer Caroline Ste-

phenson agrees that swimwear is an

obvious route for expansion within in

the boost busting sector.

Last month, the retailer launched its

rst enhancing bra, titled similarly

to M&S - 2 Cup Sizes Bigger, and it isreported to already be a best-seller.

2

Maidenfor m

Ultimate Push

Up bra

3

M & Co 2 Cup Sizes

Bigg er bra


22/64

BOOSTING BRAS/INVESTIGATION

20 LINGERIEINSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.co.uk

It is available on M&Cos website in

white, nude and black, and grey ani-

mal print, with matching pants.

Te company is rumoured to be

looking into introducing its own

swimwear version next season.

Stephenson says: We entered this

market having seen this type of prod-

uct in the US... Going forward these

types of products will cascade down

into swimwear as, once you get used

to the pleasure of seeing yourself ei-

ther signicantly smaller or bigger in

the bust, you are going to want thatlook on the beach.

While the major High Street retai l-

ers appear to have been exper iencing

a big boost in sales from their bust

boosting products, independent retail-

ers should not despair. Tere are also a

series of brands now offering competi-

tive two cup enhancing products.

Like La Senza and soon M&S, Maid-

enform recently expanded its Ultimate

Push Up bra into the strapless cate-

gory and the product is reported to be

performing very well, this season.And the brand is continuing to in-

novate within the push up arena. Its

Pressure Free collection has expanded

with a push up bra and it has other

push up styles slated for next spring

that include a strapless and plunge

style.

Wonderbra, famous for its cleavage

enhancing styles, has also developed

a new bra to give its best ever boost.

Te Full Effect bra, again designed to

enhance busts by up to two cup sizes,

features padding made of a mix of air,

gel and foam, which weighs in at a

very l ight 80 grams.Fan shaped padding has been de-

veloped to prov ide enhancement f rom

every angle for a fuller effect. Tis

seeks to create a completely natural,

rounded shape, while the smooth mi-

crobre cups and seam-free side wings

give the bra an invisible look.

Wonderbra UK spokesperson Jul ia

Nolan says: You can always rely on

Wonderbra to give you an amazing

cleavage, but we really wanted to cre-

ate something even better. Our Won-

derbra girls are always looking for theultimate in cleavage, but we wanted

to develop something comfortable

that didnt look fake. Tis bra really

does give you the full effect w ith an

increase of up to two cup sizes that

looks natural and is so light you hardly

know youre wearing it.

For everyday casual wear, Royce

has just launched a new wirefree,

moulded, extra-padded t-shirt bra,

called Enhance.

Te AAA cup Enhance has been

designed with extra-thick foam pad-

ding to give the il lusion of a bust two

sizes bigger.Te extra-padded cups also make

the product perfect for women who

have had double-mastectomy and

dont want to wear prostheses.

In the press release, a Royce Linge-

rie spokewoman writes: For too long,

the lingerie market has been focused

on bigger-busted ladies, making those

of us with smaller breasts feel a l ittle

left out!

It doesnt appear that she has cause

to worry. Looking at the market, it

is hard to miss t hat little has rapidlybecome an area of extreme growth.

4 5

4

Royce Linger ie

before shot

5

Model wea ring

Royce Linge ries

Enhance bra


23/64

JULY 2011 /ISSUE 03


BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR LINGERIE & SWIMWEAR PROFESSIONA

SPEEDYOVERHAULSpeedos Richard Ellis reveals the

swimwear brands biggest untold

secret to the world

CRUISEENGAGEMENTCelebrity designer

Issa talks 2012

Cruise designs

NEWREVIEW

OPINION

ANALYSI

NEWPRODUCT

We reveal the 5 top lingerie brands

that are planning to dip their toes

into swimwear for SS12

JULY 2011 /ISSUE 03



24/64

Galapago in C to DD cup

AIS Show : 26-28 July 2011

Moda, Stand C15: 14-16 August Lingerie & Swimwear

AIS Show : 26-28 July 2011

Moda, Stand C15: 14-16 August Lingerie & Swimwear


25/64 23www.lingerieinsight.com /JULY 2011 /SWIMWEAR INSIGHT

FRONT

REGULARS

News Review

A round-up of th is months swimwea r and retail news.

Speakers Corner

Industry members share their views on the extent to which

celebrity endorsement drives the sw imwear market.

Cross Dressing

Lingerie Insight speaks to ve lingerie brands that will

be dipping their toes into swimwear, this SS12.

Speedy Overhaul

Speedo national account manager Richard Ellis reveals

the swimwear brands biggest untold secret to t he world.

Cruise Engagement

We talk to Issa founder a nd designer Daniella Issa

Helayel about the brands new Cruise 2012 range.

ON THE COVER

Products Showcase

An inspirational selection of brand new swimwear.

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26/6424

COMMENT

SWIMWEAR INSIGHT/JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.co.uk

The water is heating up this

July, as the sector re aches boil-

ing point. It is an important

month for the industr y, which

sees two of the biggest trade

shows, Mode City and Miami

Swim, take place simultane-

ously for thefirst time.

Multiple lingerie brands are seek-

ing to get in on the action by launch-

ing their own swimwear lines. We

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COMMERCIAL

SALES MANAGER Andrew Martyniuk,

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Promedia Ltd, incorporated and

registered in the British Virgin Islandsunder company number 1559854.

bring you the latest news and collec-tions from fresh swimwear entries

Fraulein Annie, Dirty Pretty Tings,

Bestform, Fred & Ginger and Elomi.

Al l of these brands w il l be br ing ing

their own unique selling points to

the market, which is set to be thrum-

ming with activ ity over the next few

months.

We are a lso proud to be int roduc-

ing the re-vamped SpeedoSculpture,

a new Gold Partner of this years

inaugural UK Li ngerie Awards, to be

held at One Mayfair, this September 7.

Te impact of celebrity is some-

thing that we cannot avoid in todays

mass consumer society. We gain the

opinions of a series of industry ex-

perts in Speakers Corner and talk to

the founder of Issa, who designed the

Duchess of Cambridges engagement

dress, about her latest swimwear

collection.

KAT SLOWE

EDITOR

[email protected]

Image: Bestform

Model wears: Retro inspired one

piece swimsuit from BestformAquasculptings SS12 Monaco

collection, featuring hidden

wires and lined cups for invisible

support and comfort in wear.

Vertical piping seeks to provide

an elongated, attering shape.

Te product is available in khaki/

cream (as shown) or navy/ivory.

Te Monaco collection also

includes a plunge bikini top with

side-shaping properties and a

choice of high leg or short bikinibriefs.

JULY COVER


27/64 25

NEWS REVIEW /FRONT

www.lingerieinsight.com /JULY 2011 /SWIMWEAR INSIGHT

THIS MONTH IN THE U K SWIMWEAR SECTOR

Lingerie Insight is

delighted to announce

that SpeedoSculpture

has become an offi cialGold Partner and Sponsor of the

UK Lingerie Awards.

Te partnership comes as mas-

sive momentum is building for

the event, for which thousands

of nominations were submitted

last month at an average rate of

600 a day.

SpeedoSculptures Richard Ellis

said on the Awards partnership:

SpeedoSculpture is delighted to

have become a partner and spon-

sor of the UK Lingerie Awards.

Te Awards will present a fantas-

tic opportunity to bring brands,customers and industry partners

all together to celebrate the suc-

cesses achieved by all of the hard

work that goes into developing

and sustaining a brand.

Lingerie Insight sales manager

Andrew Mart yniuk added: I am

overjoyed to welcome SpeedoS-

cuplture as a Gold Partner for the

inaugural UK Lingerie Awards.As

an established and highly respect-

ed brand within the industry,

SpeedoSculpture not only adds

a huge degree of prestige to the

occasion, but also ts in perfectlywith our determination to ensure

that this is the biggest and the

best awards event in the industry

calendar.

SpeedoSculpture is a multi-tier

body control swimwear platform.

Covering four main core areas,

Active, Fashion, Underwired and

Premium, the brand seeks to offer

an all encompassed range of con-

trol swimwear products to meet

the needs of all consumers.

wired bust support and adjust-

able straps.

SpeedoSculpture has evolvedconsiderably over the last few

years. We have taken steps to

move the product away from

being a pure swim orientated

product and have allowed it to

ourish, opening opportunities

in other areas such as holiday,

leisure and spa, Ellis added.

We feel that the collection for

Spring 2012 is the strongest col-

lection yet.

SPEEDOSCULPTURE BECOMES GOLD PARTNER

AND SPONSOR OF UK LINGERIE AWARDS

FOR IMAGES OF THE SS12 COLLECTIONS AND DAILY BREAKING NEWS VISIT

NEWS IN BRIEFOPINION

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28/64

FRONT/NEWS REVIEW

halterneck, a balcony bikini top

for DD to G cup sizes, a soft hal-

terneck bikini top, high waisted

short and tanga bikini.

Each will be retailed separate

in order to maximise the cus-

tomers choice.Te swimwear line will be

modelled in Paris by a singing

trio from London, who will be

performing a song exclusively fo

Frulein Annie.

A new video will also be show

at the Mode City trade show for

the first time.

Tis summer will see swimwear

label Mermaid in Englandlaunc

its award winning Aquachangecollection exclusively with Ama-

zon.

Te range was picked up by

Amazon for its unique colour

change designs and will feature

in the launch of its new Holiday

Shop as one of the retail giants

premier swimwear brands.

Natasha Roy, creator of

Aquachange swimwear and

founder of Mermaid in England,

said: o be selected by Amazonas a premier brand is a huge

thrill. Amazon UK is the ideal

site to introduce the Mermaid in

England brand and Aquachange

swimwear to a wider audience.

Our bikinis are designed to be ex

citing to wear, its all about havin

fun with the colour change effec

and really showing off somethin

unique; swimwear changes colo

and pattern in water.

Fashion labelISSA , who sup-

plied the royal blue silk jersey

dress to Kate M iddleton for her

engagement photographs, has

launched a capsule swim col-

lection of one pieces, bikin is,

kaftans and jersey dresses,

skirts and pants.

he pieces use the same

colour palette as the ready to

wear ma in line and the kaf tansreflect the seasonal prints.

Owner and designer Daniella

Helayels creations are inspired

by her native country Brazil,

where she was born and raised

before studying at F.I. in New

York, and movi ng to London in

1999.

Helayel seeks to translate

unexpected colours, natural

shapes and thrill of carnivals

into memorable, striking printsin fantastically unique colour

combinations.

Over the years, Issa ha s been

embraced by a growing nu mber

of celebrity fans; including Ma-

donna, Laura Bailey, Scarlett

Johansson, Kate Middleton,

Sharon Stone, Kristen Davis,

Kylie Minogue, Keira Knig htley

and Jennifer Lopez.

Lingerie brand Fraulein Anniehas announced that it will be

expanding its range to include

swimwear, this SS12.

Te new capsule collection, ti-

tled Ahoy Sailor, features a blue/

nude/off-white colour combina-

tion in an array of different styles.

Each style is designed to be

worn from both sides, with an

exclusive print design of dancing

sailors on one and a stripe on the

other. Te padded, structuredshapes are also reversible.

Te collection includes a struc-

tured swimsuit with removable

Elite Swimhas announced

that two of its brands will be

featured on new reality Vshow Britains Hottest Couple.

Week 2 of the series wil l see

a photo shoot take place on

Blackpool beach, for which

Aguaclara w il l supply the

swimsuits for the women and

WAX X wil l supply the board

shorts for the men.

Contestants were scouted

through model agencies to find

eight of the hottest, most com-

petitive couples, who will thenbe eliminated each week.

he show air thi s September,

2011, on BBC hree.

Independent retailers are be-

ing urged to put their weight

behind a campaign to rai se the

profile of local shopkeepers in

the UK.

On July 4, 2011, the public

wi ll be encouraged t o buy at

least one item from their local,independent shop as part of

Independents Day, an initia-

tive led by Skillsmart Retail and

the National Skil ls Academy for

Retail in ta ndem with a number

of trade associations.

Independents Day is an op-

portunit y for consumers to

show their support for local

shops at a time when much has

been made of the high vacancy

rate plaguing the high street.Retailers are being asked to

promote the campaign to t heir

customers in their shop win-

NEWS REVIEWdows with the Your high street

needs you! poster and by lik-

ing the campaig n on Facebook

and following it on witter.

A ma ssive 92 percent of re-

tail businesses employ fewer

than 10 people, according toSkillsmart, which insists it is

vital for businesses to create

a strong community around

town centres and high streets.

Womens designer lingerie

brand Fred & Gingerhas an-

nounced the launch of its first

swimwear collection, Midas

ouch, for SS12.

he brands new collection

takes its inspirat ion from Greekmythology and King Midas,

popularly remembered for his

ability to turn everything he

touched in to gold. In ref lection

of this, each piece of the range

has been named af ter a Greek

God or Goddess.

Egyptian Pharaoh Cleopatra,

whose herita ge wa s that of

Greek origin, has also provided

inspiration through the medi-

um of late iconic queen of st yle,Elizabeth aylor, who played

the role of Cleopatra.

he collection seeks to in-

corporate both the deca dence

of Midas and the elegance of

aylors portrayal of Cleopatra

through mixing glitter stretch

mesh in both black a nd gold

wit h compli ment ing spark ling

Lycra and gold details .


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NEWS REVIEW /FRONT

www.lingerieinsight.com /JULY 2011 / SWIMWEAR INSIGHT

Getting a celebrity on board to model andadvertise a product is a classic marketing too l,

but not very original an d slightly outdated.

The majority of the public understands that

its a business move and not n ecessarily the

celebrity choosing to wear this outfit.

We choose to work with models wh o have

character and a story to tell. The Spinettes,

for example, are a singing trio from London

who present our SS12 collection and perform

a song for the brand, these are women who

have chosen a genre of music that they

love and suits them. This ethos absolutely

reflects the Frulein Annie brand, confidence,

assurance and passion.

Celebrities are extremely important andvaluable to brands, especially in the luxury

fashion sector such as swimwear. Celebrity

endorsement of swimwear has b een around

for several centuries and we are lucky at Have

Faith ,as we have had celeb rities like Miranda

Kerr wearing our collection, which has resulted

in a massive influx of sales, making certain

items extremely popular. Miranda was spotted

wearing our Fama bikini, a b lack sparkly bikini

in knit material with black chain detail, an d this

resulted in coverage all over the world, which

has certainly raised the b rands profile. We

welcome any celebrities to wear piece s from

our collection.

I believe celebrity endorsement is asignificant component in relation to the

success of a swimwear brand.

When Miss England wore the Nardis

Beach brand at the Miss World contest and

Alexandra Burke wore it after her X Factor

win, the publicity was impor tant. However, it

did not impact significantly on sales.

I would place a greater emphasis on

such endorsement from within th e fashion

industry and its media acknowledging both

quality and design. However, I believe my

collection already speaks for itself to the

woman who loves to be individual, confident

and inspired in her choice of beachwear.

FRAUKE NAGEL

director, Fraulein Annie

CRISTIANA CARWARDINE

designer, Nardis Beach

JENNIFER STANO

founder, Have Faith

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT DRIVE THE SWIMWEAR MARKET?

SPEAKERS CORNER

Australian swimwear brandSEAFOLLY has signed

Dutch model MARLOES HORST as the brands first

international ambassador for a new campaign, launch-

ing on July 1.The supermodel has previously featured in the 2010

Pirellu Calendar, shot by Terry Richardson, and as the

face of Clavin Kleins 2011 swimwear campaign.

She has also appeared on the cover of Italian

Elle and Italian Grazia, and was photographed

last year by Guy Aroch for British Harpers

Bazaar.

Seafolly was founded in 1975 and has since

be come one of the worl ds mos t r eco gni se d

swimwear and beach lifestyle brands. It is cur-

rently stocked in major fashion department stores and

swimwear boutiques around the globe.

NEWS FLASH

For more

news visit

www.lingeriein-

sight.com


30/6428

FRONT/NEWS REVIEW

SWIMWEAR INSIGHT /JULY 2011 / www.lingerieinsight.com


W

hen the standard

rate of VAT rose

to 20 percent in

January 2011, it

reached its highest ever UK level.

Whatever your business, large or small,

VAT affects you, but the good news

is that there are a number of ways to

minimise its impact.

By now, you will certainly have

decided whether to pass on the VAT

increase to your customers or absorb

the cost to keep your prices the same,

remembering that you still have to

pay over the additional 2.5 percentto HMRC. As long as you declare the

correct amount of VAT in place at the

time of the retail transaction to HMRC,

the price you charge is up to you. You

are not breaking any law if you decide

to keep to certain price points in spite

of the VAT rise.

This is obviously a commercial

decision for your business based on

what your competitors have been

doing, whether your suppliers are

increasing their prices and whether

you feel a price rise may deter yourcustomers from buying from you.

Aside from deciding how to

respond to the recent hike, good

ongoing VAT management is a must

if you want to have a sustainable

business.

So what are the main VAT dos and

donts for the swimwear and intimate

apparel industry?

On the practical, accounting level,

you do need to get your sums right.

While HMRC said they would adopt

a light touch approach to any errors

or mistakes made in the first VAT

return after the change, their normal

policy is to make no allowances formistakes. They will penalise a wrongful

declaration of output tax so dont

expect leniency. Get your accounting

right to avoid any fines from the tax

man.

It is always good practice to review

the VAT rate applicable to the products

you sell. This should be reviewed on a

regular basis and particular attention

should be given to products that

have items at different VAT rates, for

instance a book sold with a DVD.

It is best to keep a monthly recordof your turnover as late registration

ENSURE THAT YOU STAY ABREAST OF THE

VAT RULES GOVERNING YOUR BUSINESS

JOHN C RAWFORD

managing director , The VAT Consultancy

can result in penalties and you dont

want to be battling against the clock

to complete the paperwork. Records

should be retained for six years as

they could legally be demanded by

HMRC. Always notify HMRC when

major changes take place affecting

tax payable by the business and do it

within thirty days.

When you are dealing with

suppliers, ask for and keep VAT

invoices. These are your evidence to

claim back VAT on supplies made to

your business.

When customers are returninggoods, make sure you enter the

correct rate on credit notes, the value

of gift vouchers to give in return and

the value of exchanged goods.

Pay particular attention if you

or your clients import. Import VAT

deferment levels should be kept under

review. SIVA (Simplified Import VAT

Accounting) could be a good option

but make sure you take further advice

on this.

Make sure you understand rules

around VAT at the point of sale.Retailers opting to use the Point of

Sale Retail Scheme or similarly based

Bespoke Retail Schemes, and who

make supplies at more than one rate

of VAT (standard rate, lower rate, and

zero rate) are required to separate their

takings at each rate of tax at the time

of each supply.

Retailers may want to consider

moving to quarterly returns ending

28 February in order to maximise the

sales generated at Christmas and New

Year, which could bring a large cash

flow benefit. Similarly, Non Standard

Tax Periods can be considered, which

can make accounting for VAT alignwith the businesses accounting

periods perfectly.

If you make payments on account

to HMRC, the amounts you pay can

be reviewed at any time. If you think

your sales may decrease or if HMRCs

calculations based on the previous

years VAT returns are flawed for any

reason, you should contact them and

renegotiate.

Ultimately the best advice is always

to seek clarification if you are unsure

on how to correctly treat an activity ortransaction for VAT purposes.


31/64 29

REPORT /SWIMWEAR LAUNCHES

www.lingerieinsight.com /JULY 2011 / SWIMWEAR INSIGHT

LINGERIE INSIGHT SPEAKS TO FOUR LINGERIE BRANDS THAT WILL BE DIPPING THEIRTOES INTO SWIMWEAR, THIS SS12, WITH WHAT WE PREDICT WILL BE SOME OF THE

SEASONS HOTTEST COLLECTIONS.

The Collection: Te collection is

called Ahoy Sailor and comes in a

blue/ white/ nude colour combina-

tion. It offers ve styles to atter

different body shapes, with cup sizes

ranging from A to G.

Each style can be worn from both

sides with Fraulein Annies exclusive

print design of dancing sailors on one

and a stylish stripe on the other. Te

styles are retailed separately, maxi-

mizing the customers choice and

offering multiple combinations.

Trade shows: Paris Mode City and

Curve New York

Manufactured: Far East

Why have you chosen this year

to enter into swimwear?

Glamorous swimwear that is gure

hugging and attering can be even

more import ant to a lot of women

than lingerie. Te market is expand-

ing because it has become less sea-

sonal than it used to be; sales during

the winter months are increasing

year on yea r. Summer is sti ll the best

time to launch a new line though.

How is designing swimwear dif-ferent to designing lingerie? Dif-

ferent challenges?

I nd swimwear easier to create

because it has far less dye-to-match

components than lingerie. Te fabrics

are more forgiving due to the high

content of elastane; that makes it less

of a (technical) chal lenge. I had a lot

of fun creating it, which is showing,

I hope!

How have you chosen to balance

the collection between fashionand practicality?

Combining style with f unction is one

of Frulein Annies key intentions

and something that I think of when I

start sketching ideas. It was essential

to choose shapes that atter different

body shapes and include styles that

lift even larger busts and atten the

tummy and hips.

Te styling had to be glamorous; I

looked at photos of movie stars from

the 50s for inspiration. A book on Art

Deco print design made me think

of the sailors that we drew in the

distinctive Frulein Annie style and

hints at 1930s avantgarde.

Which swimwear designers do

you personally admire and why?

Tis has to be Eres for its distinctive

style and modern simplicity. I also

applaud newcomer Mouill for its

feminine, fashion-oriented style.

Who would you consider to be

your target consumer ?

Im designing for women who enjoy

fashion and love individual style. Te

collections makes you want to go to

the pool or beach and have fun.

From where do you gain the in-

spiration for your designs?

I love the glamour of the early 20th

century and draw on art, lm, music

and places. Te avantgarde of the

Art Deco era is a main source since

I found a book on 1920s Berlin i n the

college library when I was a student.

Where would you like to see your

swimwear stocked?

Retailers in Europe and the US who

are at the cutting edge of individualstyle and design.

FRAULEIN ANNIE DIRECTOR FRAUKE NAGEL TALKS TO LINGERIE INSIGHT ABOUTHER FIRST SWIMWEAR COLLECTION.

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Documents

Lingerie Insight July 2011