Second skin
Creative director for Agent Provocateur reveals intimate details of luxury lingerie brand’s latest collection
Q For those unfamiliar with the brand Agent Provocateur, how would you describe it and specifically its esthetic?
A n Agent Provocateur is all about empowering, luxurious and sexually charged lingerie with a decidedly British sense of humour. At Agent Provocateur we always design lingerie that emphasize a woman’s curves. We design for all women, and this is really reflected in our customer base — there really is something for everyone. Our designs can be very racy but we always manage to remain tasteful as our collections have an underlying distinct cocktail of wit and humour throughout.
Q Who is the Agent Provocateur woman?
A Strong, sexy and empowered. The Agent Provocateur woman is a feminist with a sense of humour. The key to being an AP woman is confidence. If you feel secure within yourself you become very attractive to others. They are empowered and modern women who enjoy beautifully made lingerie. Q Intimate wear doesn’t have the same dramatic shifts season to season style wise, so how do you keep it interesting and engaging?
A Our main focus every season is to produce a new sexy collection in an innovative way and we are always interested in using new fabrics and experimenting with styles.
Our seasonal campaigns are always provocative but not necessarily in an overtly erotic way, we always try to evoke humour and irony as well as sexuality with our pieces.
Lingerie is so great because you can use it to express different parts of your personality. We have some really racy sets and playsuits that can portray your sultry side; we have playful styles that can show your naughtier side; and we equally have more demure sets that are great for the girl next door.
Q What is new for autumn/ winter 2015?
A Our AW15 collection is all about the all-woman. We took inspiration from natural, classic beauties such as Sophia Loren and Cindy Crawford. We wanted to embrace the old-school Agent Provocateur values whilst creating an innovative and exciting collection. The Lindie set is a perfect example with a stunning mix of barely there tulle and tattoo style beading. The beauty of the hand embellished trim is that every piece is completely individual.
Q What are your own favourite pieces?
A I design all of my collections with the view that they will be shown off with or without clothes over them. I think it’s very liberating. Robyn is a great example of this. It’s always great to see a strap peeking out or a glimpse of a cross detail across the neckline.
Annoushka is also an ultrasexy set, with a bordeaux leavers lace. It’s sensual and strong yet incredibly feminine. There is something deeply empowering about a beautiful set of lingerie under your clothes. It is your little secret that you can choose to show off or not; the main thing is that you know you look fabulous. Agent Provocateur is available in Vancouver at Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom.