Corsets

Jean Paul Gaultier Designs Luxe Lingerie for La Perla

Filed under: Apparel

Quirky French fashion maven Jean Paul Gaultier has collaborated with luxe Italian lingerie brand La Perla on a sexy new collection of retro-inspired underthings. Available as of November with prices ranging from about $600 for bras and panties to $1,200 for more intricate pieces, the costly collection will include corsets, bustiers and other items designed to enhance the body's curves. Black and powder pink dominate the color palette along with a few coral and baby blue pieces. "In my latest prêt-à-porter collection I revisited the conical bras and corsets worn as outerwear," Gaultier notes. "Lingerie is part of my core beliefs and my heritage. It has been nearly 30 years since I created my first corset dress. This collaboration was a natural and logical step, especially since La Perla is the pearl of lingerie, with the best savoir-faire." Two limited edition pieces will be presented on July 7th during Gaultier's couture runway show in Paris.

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Tags: corsets, fashion, fashion designer, Jean Paul Gaultier, La Perla, lingerie, Paris

The Fashion Statement: It's a Cinch!

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

Women's Wear Daily, the so-called bible of the fashion industry and my former employer, wrote an interesting article this week about how corset sales are up in the U.K. thanks to the influence of Rihanna (above) and Lady Gaga.

The piece said women in London are snapping up corsets in the intimates departments and wearing them to the discos. It's such the rage, Selfridges Oxford Street posted a 70 percent increase in sales in November compared with the same month last year. The article goes on to say that the trend of underwear worn as outerwear is more popular that ever.

Rihanna and Lady Gaga are not the first divas to go corset crazy, of course. The corset, which has existed in womenswear for hundreds of years, now represents sex, fetish, bondage, body modifications -- all the good racy stuff that shocks us and slightly turns us off and really turns us on. It worked for Madonna. Why not Rihanna and Lady Gaga? And why not a million other girls?

In my 15 years covering the fashion, I've always suspected the edgiest fashion (streetwear, rock and roll, punk) appears to change more slowly than conservative fashion (contemporary, designer). Because it doesn't have to. Spikes always provoke us. Punk hair that resembles a frill-necked dragon always pushes our buttons. Exposed body parts always unnerve us just a little (OK, maybe not all of us). Corsets always work. Every time.

There are a few other masters of the shock game and all of them make ample use of the corset. Jean Paul Gaultier, of course, through Madonna in the '80s as I mentioned.

Tags: Alexander McQueen, AlexanderMcqueen, Corsets, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Vivienne Westwood, VivienneWestwood

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India's Eventful Fashion Week

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Events

Nothing makes a big, well-publicized event as exciting as a wardrobe malfunction, but I will admit that it is more exciting at a sporting event than a fashion one. With all the costume changes and models running around backstage, trying to fit into samples of various clothing, it isn’t surprising that, from time to time, there will be a malfunction. In India, a recent show seemed plagued with malfunctions and, given the conservative nature of the media and guests in attendance, it created quite a stir.

Personally, I was much more interested in the clothes that were being shown than the media uproar that followed. Indian Fashion Week mega-show featured Indian designers, like Anupama Dayal and Shahzad Kalim and was full of silken, flowing skirts, vibrant colors, corset tops and lots of accessories, including embroidery and lace on the clothing. Dayal’s designs in particular were gorgeous and I have heard that some will be exported to parts of Europe and the US in the coming months. Anyone have any leads on a store, yet?

[Image Reuters]

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Tags: anapuma dayal, conservative, corsets, Dayal, design, designers, embroidery, fashion, fashion show, fashion week, India, model, models, mumbai, nudity, shahzad kalim, silk, skirts, style, wardrobe, wardrobe malfunction