The just-in-time-for-Valentines-Day Love collection from Fleur of England offers another example of what this label does best: re-imagines classic lingerie looks and colors in a way that makes them seem fresh, modern and exciting.

Almost every lingerie label on the planet is turning out pink and red styles at this time of year, but you’d have a hard time finding a set that is more appealing — or romantic.

Fleur’s Love series incorporates all the expected V-Day clichés — sheer red lace, pink bows, silk ties — but it’s far from being just another generic holiday collection. You’ll find surprising creative flourishes in every piece here.

Fleur’s Love babydoll (top photo), for instance, isn’t the flouncy thing the name suggests; in fact, it’s really a form-hugging body-con dress made from contrasting lace and tulle panels.

And the underwired balcony bra that Fleur has used in past collections also returns, with the elegant silk bustline cuffs that have become one of the label’s signature details.

What we love most about Love, though, is the same thing we love about all of designer Fleur Turner‘s work: she has a painter’s eye for color, and for making familiar hues play off each other. In this case, the collection starts with a luxuriant scarlet French leavers lace and complements it with fuchsia lace, candy pink silk and scarlet Italian tulle. Sounds almost common — until you see how beautifully the different fabrics, textures and colorways work together.

Silk Boudoir Gown, Naked Collection

Love is the latest in a series of small, focused collections that Fleur has produced over the past couple of seasons and which offer new interpretations of traditional lingerie looks.

For instance, her onyx Iconic range (from last year’s 10th anniversary collection) combined French lace, silk and elastic bands and gave a new energy to traditional Parisian black lingerie. And her breathtaking (and brand new) Naked set (that’s a sample above) completely re-imagines the concept of nude undies, turning that wardrobe staple into something impossibly glamorous and seductive.

The Love set is available now on the FOE webshop. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but also a romantic treat any day of the year. After all, this is a Love that’s sure to last.

Boudoir bra and bow-tie Brief

Balcony bra, waspie and thong

Silk cuff balcony bra and mesh brief

It doesn’t take much guesswork to figure out what inspired the first lingerie collection from the young Montreal label Love At First Blush.

The all-black Nine Lives collection is sleek, stylish and figure-hugging — just the sort of thing Catwoman might wear during her down time. And yes, those lace kitty ears are part of the collection!

“Nine Lives is about the different personalities and characteristics of a woman,” LAFB designer Sabrina Chin told me. “It’s also about cats. That’s what gave me inspiration. I was looking at images of cats, superheroes and femmes fatales.”

And why cats? “They’re so mysterious, so intriguing,” Sabrina says. “And they’re creatures of the night.”

It’s also a playful collection with several pieces meant to be worn as outerwear, especially the Jewel and Cage bodysuits, which can probably do double duty as superhero costumes if your catsuit is at the cleaners.

Nine Lives represents a major step forward for a young Canadian designer best known for her S&M-inspired leather accessories, which you can see in several of the collection photos, and which have sold well on Etsy.

Sabrina was working as a designer for a fashion retailer, and producing intricately detailed leather cuffs, gloves and jewelry accessories in her spare time since 2009. Hard to believe, but those patterns were all cut by hand using blades and scissors. “It took a really long time,” she says. “It got to the point where I couldn’t fulfill my orders.”

The move into fashion lingerie was a natural progression for Sabrina, who graduated five years ago from Ryerson University‘s fashion design program (just like Christina Remenyi of Fortnight Lingerie) and devoted her full-time energies to Love At First Blush beginning last year.

The Nine Lives collection is meant to complement LAFB’s accessory pieces, with designs that include straps and cutouts that go well with the patterns and harness detailing on those dramatic cuffs and chains.

“Everything is made to go together,” Sabrina says. “It’s a very fashion-oriented collection. I imagine people wearing the bodysuits with jeans or high-waisted pants.”

Sabrina has been shopping her collection around Montreal boutiques and DIY shows, and hopes to find retail distributors in Toronto and beyond.

Until then, save your gas money and check out the debut collection from Love At First Blush on the label’s Etsy shop.

Leather Arm Harness

Lace Bra and Panties

Cage mesh bodysuit

Lulu Lapin crop top and knickers (see also main photo above)

Jewel bodysuit

Lace tank w/ chiffon and lace shorts

Lace bodysuit

Peacock Plumes leather cuff bracelet

How did the creative team at Agent Provocateur find inspiration for its new Spring-Summer lingerie collection? By watching lots and lots of porn.

Not the depressingly unoriginal raunch that spews from today’s X-rated film factories, but the soft-focus, semi-explicit narrative fantasies that challenged tastes and censorship laws back in the 70s.

AP creative director Sarah Shotton says she and her crew “watched hours of softly glowing scenes” from 70s’s erotic classics like Emmanuelle, Story of O and the films and photobooks of David Hamilton, and thumbed through “vintage” Playboys as well.

The point of all this, AP says, was to reacquaint the label with the sensuality and flirtatious spirit of the 70s and deliver a spring lingerie collection that captures that vibe.

The resulting promotional campaign for the 16 new style ranges features a new face for AP (French actress Mylène Jampanoï) and a lot of languid Hamilton-esque poses of bored model who look like they’re waiting for something to begin — call it a state of suspended anticipation.

It’s all very effective and touches a nostalgic nerve for those of us who grew up with this kind of imagery. It’s not the most original marketing strategy, though: last year, Marlies Dekkers (one of AP’s competitors) delivered the Electric Bilitis style range and matching photo campaign, which wasn’t so much “inspired” by the David Hamilton film of the same name as it was an homage to it.

What’s most noteworthy about AP’s new approach is how dramatically it veers away from the brand’s promotions from recent years — edgy films and photoshoots showing assertive women involved in scenarios about exhibitionism and voyeurism. In-your-face sexuality is out; wistful, dreamy sensuality is back in.

Of course, the “new” Agent Provocateur may be softer around the edges, but its basic erotic appeal hasn’t changed. There’s nothing modest about the new fishnet-and-straps Bubbles range, and there’s no mistaking the hardcore intentions of the plum Brooke range with its satin choker and inviting peephole bra.

And, oddly, while there’s a fair bit of vintage references in the 2012 collection, none of it seems related to the 1970s erotica that inspired the marketing campaign. You’ll find 50s-inspired shapewear, a 60s-inspired babydoll and even a lovely floral print (the Daena range, above) inspired by the Dutch masters of the 1700s — plus lots of the fashion-forward nouveau erotica we expect from AP.

Here’s a look at the new campaign and some of the 2012 styles. Agent Provocateur tends to introduce new styles gradually, so check their website often.

BUBBLES

SHANDEY (left), BROOKE (right)

SPRINKLE

BUBBLES

DAENA

Most artists are familiar with the timeless struggle between creativity and commerce. It’s one thing to express your inner visions on canvas, quite another to make a living doing so.

Rio Wrenn knows that dilemma well. The Portland, Ore.-based textile artist has been staging exhibitions and producing small sets of unique but seldom-seen fashion creations for about five years.

The fiercely original Rio likes to work with unusual dye formulas, found fabrics and experimental production methods.

For example, last year’s Pre-Soiled Couture collection — part art installation, part fashion line — took an extreme approach to recycled garments, and included such memorable pieces as a dress made from used tea bags and a crop top made from rusty old bottle caps. These were magnificent eco-art statements but, as you can imagine, they were not exactly bestsellers.

Through her label R.A.W. Textiles, Rio has also produced limited collections of uniquely dye-printed lingerie pieces for sale each year, although few people know her primarily as a lingerie designer.

That should change in 2012, however, with the release of Psyche, the first market-friendly, conceptual collection of loungewear and lingerie ensembles from Rio’s newly focused label.

Psyche announces the arrival of a gifted design talent determined to find a market for her ethereal, wearable artworks. And Rio makes no apologies for delivering such a, gulp, commercially appealing set.

“The R.A.W. collection is separate from my art,” Rio told Lingerie Talk. “Psyche is the first collection I decided to name. I’m allowing it to be more consumeristic, and I don’t feel guilty about it. It’s still my art, and it comes from somewhere deep inside me. I’ll do it till the day I die, whether I sell it or not.”

It’s hard to imagine that the large and sometimes eccentric Psyche collection won’t sell — many pieces are utterly breathtaking, and unlike anything else you’ll find anywhere. It helps that the collection gets a beautiful showcase in the accompanying, very old-world, photo campaign from Blueglair.

But be forewarned: because of the fabrics or screening methods used, a few of the items in Psyche are available in very limited numbers.

The collection takes its name from the goddess Psyche of Greek mythology and its rich symbolism. Psyche (which literally translates as “soul”) had a passionate bond with Eros, the Greek god of love, and was often depicted as a butterfly.

You’ll find the butterfly motif used throughout this collection, along with other mythological references such as the Athena silk jersey range, the Wood Satyr print set, and the wonderful Nymph dress (below) in silk organza.

But Psyche isn’t a series of romantic clichés. Instead, Rio presents an interesting tension between the bucolic natural world (butterfly prints on almond-tinted cotton) and the modern industrial one (rust-dyed car parts imprinted on slate-colored silk).

Rio uses fabrics from diverse sources, ranging from Chinese silks to organic bamboo and cotton, and even vintage recycled scraps. The Crochet underwear, for example, is made from authentic vintage lace doilies — which means, sadly, only a few of those are available.

Likewise, Rio’s printmaking techniques are self-made and result in some pieces that can be mass-produced and some that can’t. Her instantly adorable Butterfly undies are screened with a metal die, so there are plenty of those. But the equally cool native-inspired Karma tee was made with a metal etching that was rusted onto the fabric — as a result, each etching could produce only two pieces. (Happily, Rio is now doing that piece with a silkscreen.)

Rio likes to work with loungewear pieces because they provide a larger canvas for her unique prints, many of which have an industrial motif that transforms the silken finery its printed on into something totally unique.

You’ll see that kind of artistic duality in the big charcoal Wing cover (above), for instance, which was originally created for a junkyard-themed fashion show that used old auto parts as the basis for many prints. Same goes for the Chrysalis tunic, which used old gaskets and a real Chevy grill in its prints.

At the other end of the thematic spectrum, the Wood Satyr underwear set has all-natural roots: the rust-colored print is derived from a concoction of berries and iron pieces that are composted in a “cooker” for about two weeks.

“I’m a little hypercreative,” Rio explains. “I just go with my gut, and it’s hard to tell your gut to stop.”

Currently, you can find pieces from R.A.W. Textiles in a handful of boutiques, the new online marketplace Vespoe, and on the label’s own webshop.

Whether Rio’s extravagant eco-visions find a home in the lingerie market remains to be seen, but that’s not the only driving force behind this label.

“What I’m doing is part of who I am,” Rio said. “I’m just trying to evolve in my own self. And I know I’m going in the right direction.”

Below we have a gallery showing a handful of the designs in this stunning collection. Psyche boasts more than two dozen pieces, so be sure to check out the entire set on the R.A.W. website.

Wood Satyr silk knit briefs and cami

Athena bra and briefs

Karma organic bamboo t-shirt

Nectar bodice, Crochet undies

Nectar bodice, Athena half-slip

Luna bra, Betty vintage lace garter

Riding silk taffeta corset in Wood Satyr print

Chrysalis silk chiffon tunic

Imago silk chiffon robe

Phlox slip

That Jean Paul Gaultier sure knows how to make a splash.

While the fashion world is still buzzing over yesterday’s Paris couture show from Gaultier — a suitably trashy collection inspired by the late Amy Winehouse — shoppers on this side of the pond can finally start lining up to get their hands on his new Créateur lingerie collection for La Perla.

We first got a look at Gaultier’s second capsule collection for the Italian brand more than six months ago. The lingerie set went on sale at La Perla this week, while JPG’s first swimwear collection will be available to pre-registered customers in an online presale beginning tomorrow. (You can sign up by following this link.)

There aren’t many lingerie designers who require this kind of crowd control (or who can command La Perla’s prices), but Gaultier is not a merely mortal designer. Most pieces in last year’s inaugural Créateur set sold out, and the new swimwear line has added buzz because, well, it’s new. Trust me, if you wait for these pieces to show up in season-end discount sales, you’ll be disappointed.

There are 20 pieces in the 2012 Créateur lingerie collection, which is highlighted by several very unexpected leather-and-lace combinations, and some coquettish cabaret styles appropriately named Frou Frou.

The Leather and Lace collection, in particular, presents an extremely dramatic look that stretches the definition of what we think of as “lingerie”. Those leather corsets will be all the rage in 2012, and the mid-length leather lingerie dress will be tough to beat on this year’s best-of lists.

You’d expect such a collection to have BDSM overtones but, in Gaultier’s hands, the result is surprisingly feminine, even demure. It’s not cheap, though: the ensemble in the photo at the top of this article features a waist cincher ($1,688), balconet bra ($633) and shorts ($563) — or roughly $3,000 for the set.

Gaultier’s swimwear collection for La Perla is something else altogether. Architectural shapes and geometric lines are everywhere and, predictably, Gaultier offers at least one corset-inspired one-piece (above photo).

Below we’ve got a gallery featuring the many of the Créateur lingerie pieces (and their eye-popping prices), followed by the new swim line.

Créateur Collection 2012

Frou Frou babydoll, $1,688

Leather and Lace corset, $2,534

Frou Frou bra, $704, and thong, $394

Leather and Lace dress, $2,814

Leather and Lace babydoll, $1,267

Frou Frou bodysuit dress, $1,337

Leather and Lace balconet bra, $633, and shorts, $563

2012 Swimwear Collection (click to enlarge)

Canadian photographer Malina Corpadean gets an 8-page spread in the February issue of Fashion magazine for this wry, retro-styled editorial series called Spring Cleaning.

The feature is a great showcase for nouveau vintage styles from some contemporary lingerie masters, ranging from Dolce & Gabbana to UK retro label What Katie Did and Canadian stars like Fortnight (above) and Blush.

The Romanian-born Corpadean has done some other memorable lingerie shoots, notably for Canadian retailer Jacob. You can check out more of her work here.

In the meantime, use these looks as a style guide whenever you get around to the spring chores this year. If nothing else, try not to forget the pearls.

What Katie Did (bra); Agent Provocateur (briefs); Blush (briefs getting ironed)

Dolce & Gabbana

Princesse Tam Tam (bra); Wonderbra (briefs)

Stella McCartney (bra); Cortland Foundations (briefs)

Triumph Lace Sensations

Dolce & Gabbana (bra); Flexees (briefs)

Last year it was spring lambs on the fashion runway. This time, it was pythons and poodles and models in matching afros.

But those weren’t the most exotic creatures in last night’s spring runway show from French lingerie brand Etam, held at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and streamed live on the internet.

That honor would go to Grace Jones — at 63, still as fearsome as ever in a hip-baring bodysuit and customized goat horns — and a bevy of other 80s’ disco icons who came out of semi-retirement for the high-spirited spectacle.

In fact, Etam’s annual show was more concert than catwalk, with astonishing back-to-back performances from Jones, Chaka Khan (above), Gloria Gaynor and Sister Sledge that kept the crowd on their feet. It’s awfully hard to make a lasting impression during Paris Fashion Week (across town, for example, Karl Lagerfeld was turning a fashion runway into an airplane cabin to unveil his latest), but Etam‘s disco inferno should do the trick.

The disco theme also backed up the goods on the runway, as Etam unveiled a spring line filled with high-glam pieces sparkling with gold and sequined accents.

If you didn’t catch the 90-minute show, here’s an edited best-of video to give you a taste of what you missed!


Images courtesy of AP, Getty

This is awards season in Hollywood or, as I like to call it, shapewear season. There’s so much shaping, sculpting and squishing happening on red carpets today that I wouldn’t be surprised if one day Lycra is named the official sponsor of the Oscars.

And no one watches award shows more closely, or critically, than Greg Gimble. While other people just want to get a glimpse of their favorite celebs, he’s looking for problems to solve.

“When our team watches the award shows, we’re looking for trends in dresses — how are the backs shaped, what kinds of straps are popular this year,” says Gimble, the vice-president of shapewear pioneer Va Bien. “When we see an especially challenging dress we’ll look at that and say, ‘How can we do that?’ or ‘How can we make a more full-figured woman wear that?’”

The New York-based Va Bien has been supporting celebrities of all shapes and star power for more than 30 years and is a fixture on red carpets everywhere — although, if they’ve done their job right, you won’t see the results of their labors. The company’s reputation has made Va Bien pieces a favorite among celebrity fashion stylists trying to dress their clients for red carpets, press junkets and other high-visibility appearances.

And this time of year, especially with shapely figures like Kim Kardashian and even Marilyn Monroe commanding so much attention, is Va Bien‘s busiest.

“It’s definitely a big season for us,” Gimble says.”We work with different stylists to keep celebrities looking their best. The calls come in at the last minute (saying) they need it yesterday. It gets quite hectic.”

Va Bien is also a go-to source for wardrobing departments in film, TV, music and even dance companies, and the label has helped dress a long list of celebrity figures ranging from Nicki Minaj to Sandra Bullock and even Laura Bush.

For reasons related to confidentiality and privacy, the company is careful not to boast too loudly about its celeb tie-ins — understandable, given that most would prefer to let fans think their sleek, smooth silhouette is all-natural.

But we can say that Va Bien has played a “supporting role” in recent appearances by stars such as Kelli (Pan Am) Garner, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alicia Silverstone, Joely Richardson and more.

“It’s an interesting and varied group of women, ranging from the risqué to the conservative,” Gimble says. “All of these women, when they prepare for special events, they look to Va Bien.”

“We’re a good fit for stage performers and celebrities for two reasons,” he adds. “First, we make products that are beautiful and comfortable. And second, every garment is created with a solution in mind.”

From plunging backs and necklines to any number of cleavage challenges and, of course, all those strapless gowns on women of every imaginable shape, Va Bien probably has a foundation piece that will make it work.

You can see that emphasis on solutions in the images below, in which VB shows a celebrity appearance alongside a garment that can make such a look achievable both for stars and typical consumers.

The family-run Va Bien is among the rarest of fashion hybrids, a heritage shapewear brand. Founded in 1979 — back when shapewear was new (and horribly uncomfortable) — the company was one of several American labels that pioneered advances in stitching, cup shape and body-hugging styles that made shaping garments a wardrobe staple.

In fact, one of their perennial bestsellers, the classic soft cup bodysuit (above), still provides the same sleek look today that it did three decades ago. In a market driven by relentless innovation, the fact that someone still sells a 30-year foundation piece is itself quite an achievement.

The recent popularity of TV retro-themed shows like Pan Am and Mad Men has also given a boost to Va Bien, which offers many styles that have a distinct vintage look and feel.

But regardless of what trends might come and go during red carpet season, Gimble says there will always be a demand for Va Bien‘s products.

“Trends tend to be cyclical,” he says. “But our expertise is in special occasions solutions. There are always going to be weddings and there are always going to be holiday parties. And those kinds of foundations are always going to be in demand.”

Here’s a gallery showing some red-carpet moments, and the Va Bien foundation piece that can help you achieve a comparable look.

Passionate, intelligent, self-assured, pioneering: these are all qualities associated with people born during the year of the dragon, which begins today and is considered the most favored sign in the Chinese zodiac.

Those are also characteristics often ascribed to Marlies Dekkers, the renowned Dutch lingerie designer who has chosen to welcome the year of the dragon with a dramatically artistic tribute collection to all things Asian.

With six unique style ranges, Dekkers’ Far East collection for spring 2012 covers a lot of bases, from Japanese cranes to Thai temples and even female ninjas. None of this is random; Dekkers chooses her inspirations carefully, assembles her collections thoughtfully, and ensures that each style has a rich and meaningful story behind it.

A great example of this is the Blue and White China set, which really is the heart of the Far East collection. This is a white mesh set overlaid with a blue pattern of Chinese pagodas, screens and cherry blossoms, all meant to emulate original patterns from Delftblue china. And it’s more than just a gorgeous print: it’s Dekkers’ salute to the historic porcelain trade between China and her native land, and one of its most famous cultural exports.

Most of the style ranges in the Far East collection are based on a print or a particular colorway, and all offer the latest variations in Dekkers’ instantly recognizable multi-strap looks. The top photo, for instance, is from the Heavenly Crane range, a special-sizes range that combines a pinkish-nude base with a printed motif of the red-crowned crane, a powerful symbol in both Japanese and Chinese art.

Two styles in the Far East collection are tributes to legendary Chinese films, both of which feature powerful women in lead roles: the black stretch satin Crouching Tiger set (which comes with a gift necklace in the shape of a bow!); and the pink-on-red Raise The Red Lantern set, named for the groundbreaking 1991 film that introduced Gong Li to western audiences. This range includes matching stockings and a wrap dress, and all purchases come with a gift fan bearing the style’s lantern print.

Those historic inspirations in the new collection are balanced by the White Temple range, a white-on-white set that attempts to mimic the majestic all-white Wat Rong Khun temple in Thailand. This ultra-modern look (the temple itself is still under construction) includes silver dragon strap embellishments against the pieces’ white microfiber base.

Finally, we’re betting the most popular range in Far East is going to be the black-and-gold Kunoichi set (above), which is the name given to female Japanese ninjas. Look for black floral lace overlaid and gold accents on a nude microfiber base for and exceptionally fashionable but wearable ensemble.

The Far East collection is significantly more detailed and artistic than Dekkers’ recent collections. That’s not a knock against this outstanding brand, but it shows the wisdom in Dekkers’ recent move to resurrect the Undressed name as a way to offer catalog favorites and youth-oriented basics under that label while using her signature label for the higher-reaching luxury designs such as these.

The year of the dragon is also considered by the Chinese to be one of abundant success and good fortune, and there is little doubt that this inspired collection will help Marlies Dekkers reap the blessings of this auspicious year.

Watch for these pieces arriving at your favorite boutique this spring. In the meantime, here are campaign images from the Far East collection.

Blue & White China

Raise The Red Lantern

White Temple

Crouching Tiger

Ladies, is your guy man enough to be seen in a pair of powder-puff pink polka-dot boxers with a tiny heart emblem on the fly? If not, it’s time to upgrade — either the BF or his wardrobe.

The product images above and below are from the debut collection of Max Holliday, the men’s shorts line from UK designer Damaris Evans and her super-cute lingerie label Mimi Holliday. They’ll be available for purchase early next month on the Damaris webshop — just in time for stylish couples to trade Mimi-and-Max gifts for Valentine’s Day.

As a man covering the women’s lingerie market, I must confess that this is the most exciting product announcement I’ve seen in ages, and I’ll be in line on day one to grab some of these beauties.

Let’s face it, when it comes to fashionable undies, the men’s market is light years behind what’s happening in women’s intimates. It’s almost impossible to find decent boxers that don’t have a massive brand name obnoxiously imprinted on the waistband — seriously, would women tolerate that? — or stylish looks amid the ocean of blacks and grays that is the lads’ department.

There are fashion-conscious underwear options for men, but too often they are cartoonish, kitschy or aimed at the Pride Day market (sorry guys, but you know that’s true).

Max Holliday goes a long way toward rectifying that imbalance with a collection that is boyish but not juvenile, and funny without being clownish. Mostly, we just love the idea that a great women’s designer has stepped in to help elevate the men’s market and finally give all you Mimis out there the boyfriends you deserve.

Max Holliday launches with a generous collection of 12 styles with short inseams and 7 in longer legs (apparently inspired by Andre Agassi). They’re fun, frisky and more than a little feminine — all the styles bear women’s names and Damaris’s “heart” logo, and are brightened by the same pop-art color palette that Mimi Holliday uses in its women’s collections. But again I ask you: what guy out there wouldn’t benefit from just a touch more femininity to soften his hard macho edges?

Having said said, I should point out that Max undies do not feature the peek-a-book open backsides that Damaris made famous in her women’s collections!

Damaris says she started making men’s shorts for her boyfriend several years ago. He not only loved them and asked for more, but his friends started putting in requests, too.

Everything in the Max Holliday line is made from 100% cotton, and features a mix of polka dots, stripes and Liberty print in different colorways. Most unique, though, are the contrasting print linings in soft velvet ribbon. Wow!

For UK shoppers, the Max collection will be available in Harrods on Jan. 27, with prices ranging from £32 to £55. After that, the Damaris website is the next distribution point, although Damaris is hinting at a distribution deal with a a major online retailer.

It’s been just over a decade since Damaris first shook up the fashion lingerie scene with her bold designs that were as amusing as they were erotic. Will the debut of Max Holliday spark the same kind of revolution on the men’s side? We should be so lucky!

Here are a few more styles in the first Max Holliday collection. Hover over the images to see the product names.