ALIZA REGER The daughter of lingerie queen Janet on Diana’s delights and keeping the family firm standing proud
ON FAMOUS ENCOUNTERS AND KEEPING THE LEGACY OF HER ‘LINGERIE QUEEN’ MOTHER ALIVE
Over the past few weeks, royal fans and fashionistas have been treated to close-up views of the iconic bridal gown that the Princess of Wales wore at her wedding in 1981, after it went on display at Kensington Palace. But little is known about the special items Diana selected for her wedding trousseau. “There was a lot of ivory satin and lace and a particular nightdress and robe,” says Aliza Reger, head of the Janet Reger lingerie label, chosen by the Princess to wear for her big day. “It was of its time – quite frothy, and young Diana all over.” The Princess was just one of the many celebrity clients of the trailblazing brand, including Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Dame Joan Collins, Kate Moss and Katie Holmes, who would visit the famous shop in Knightsbridge.
“Diana was very frequently in Beauchamp Place, either having lunch or down the road with Bruce Oldfield, and she would pop in,” says Aliza, who inherited the business from her mother Janet in 2005.
“We had photographers outside the door and camped outside [the nearby restaurant] San Lorenzo every single day.
“As soon as she came out of one place to go into another, they knew where she was. She didn’t
‘Diana was the archetypal English rose, as well as kind, gentle and shy’
announce her arrival, but there would often be security guys with her.
“She was tall and elegant, the archetypal English rose, as well as kind, gentle and quite shy.”
VIVA LA DIVA
This was in sharp contrast to Diana’s stepmother Raine, Countess Spencer, adds Aliza, speaking to
hello! from her elegant apartment in London’s Swiss Cottage, where she lives with her property developer husband Andrew.
“She was a real diva and so fabulous. When she came in, she threw her mink at one of the assistants and the champagne had to come out. She was very booming – you knew she was there – and by far the grandest.”
Aliza, who worked for her mother’s company as a young girl stuffing envelopes for mail-outs, says she was also a big fan of the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret.
“I liked her because she was such a rebel. Back in the day, my parents were regular visitors to Mustique [the Caribbean island on which the royal had a home]. We never came across Princess Margaret, but I’m given to
understand that she’d wear Janet Reger French knickers on Macaroni Beach,” she says, conspiratorially.
The “beautiful and stylish” Princess Anne was the first royal customer, with others including Sarah Ferguson, who later became the Duchess of York; Aliza says she was “a very engaging girl – and still is”.
But it was Bianca Jagger and David Bowie’s first wife Angie who left her the most starstruck.
“I’d always chat to them – you have to treat people normally – but as soon as they were out of the door, you’d go: ‘Aaaaaarrrgghh,’” she says, laughing.
Aliza’s mother Janet established her company in the 1960s and revolutionised the lingerie business by offering an alternative to the prevalent flesh-coloured, utilitarian undergarments, with co-ordinated matching knickers and bras made from delicate silk and lace.
“She made matching sets a thing,” Aliza says. “She also designed provocative, beautiful underwear
and made i t completely acceptable. You weren’t part of the sex industry if you wore fabulous underwear.
“There was a lot of ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink’, especially from the tabloids at the time and, when she started, her industry peers were snooty and condescending.
“Then she was selling every piece and there was a lot of noise in the press, so suddenly they sat up and said: ‘We need to take note,’ and copied her very quickly.”
MEMORY BOX
Aliza’s home, where she has lived for more than 20 years, is filled with treasures, gifts and souvenirs, among which are some of her mother’s precious belongings – including framed illustrations by close friend Raymond Jackson – Evening Standard cartoonist Jak – who would draw Janet pictures in return for g i f t s for his girlfriends.
Her mother was, says Aliza:
‘I understand Princess Margaret wore Janet Reger French knickers on Macaroni Beach’
“A lot of fun, highly intelligent, and very considered.
“She was also very practical. We’ve had more than a few sticky moments. She’d say: ‘It’s only up to here, we’re not drowning yet,’ and would point to her chin. She taught me to be optimistic, that ‘ this too shall pass’.”
Mother and daughter were extremely close – “in today’s psychobabble, you’d say we had a co-dependent relationship” – and Aliza was “bereft, griefstricken” when Janet died aged 69, having lived with breast cancer since she was first diagnosed in 1991.
“I was pretty much running the business by then anyway,” she says. “My mother and I had very blurred lines – there were no firm boundaries, it was very communal.”
She hopes her own daughter Annoushka, 27, will one day follow her as head of the brand.
FUTURE PLANS
Now planning to take Janet Reger back to its roots with a fresh website and a new highend collection, which she says will be “beautiful and ethereal”, Aliza is grateful for the fact that the lingerie market has thrived during lockdown.
“It was one of the things that went really flying,” she says. “You had your really comfy crop tops and bralets, stretchy and easy fit, which flew out of the door. And because people were spending so much time at home, there was a lot of ‘ bedroom’ underwear being sold as well – padded, push-up bras and black lace pieces.”
This summer will also see the launch of a new Next bed-linen range as well as a home fragrance, and she is “looking for new things”, including which celebrities would make perfect brand ambassadors.
So far, her wish list includes Lily James, Jodie Comer, Georgia Toffolo and Zoë Kravitz, as well as the Duchess of Cambridge.
“She has stepped into her role with such elegance and grace,” says Aliza. “She’d H be a hard act to follow.”
The Janet Reger lingerie collection is available on next.co.uk. Also through Ann Summers and Kaleidoscope.
‘My mother designed provocative, beautiful underwear and made it completely acceptable’