LINGERIE / SERIES II
With aimée, not only was I rapidly
expanding in a new product category, I
was developing a new start up. I owned
a label prior to working with Balmain,
but this time I was returning with
years of brand experience, having worked
with incredible production teams and
commercial directors.
CREATIVE DIRECTION / BRAND DNA / SEASONAL RESEARCH / DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 2D & 3D / SOURCING / FABRICATING / PRINT DEVELOPMENT / KNIT DEVELOPMENT / WEAVE DEVELOPMENT / BOM / SPEC PACKS / PATTERN CUTTING / TOILING / FITTINGS / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT / PRODUCTION / ART DIRECTION / STYLING / LOOK BOOK / SHOWROOM MERCHANDISING / SALES DOCUMENTS / MANUFACTURING PLACEMENT / WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA DEVELOPMENT
As a ready-to-wear designer, expanding into a new product category required R&D — both creatively and technically. There’s a huge challenge in working with garments that combine multiple elasticities. It creates a tiny yet complex architecture; heightened when applied to a vast range of cup sizes and body shapes. I found there were tangible benefits to working in lingerie. Functionality, which at first may appear to inhibit creativity, actually had its benefits. For example, it reduced the scope of the design process, focusing the mind and enriching the design outcomes.
I was determined to bring key design techniques from my career in womenswear into my approach to lingerie. I believed this could lead to innovation through styling experiments, muse orientated development work, collage explorations, and draping techniques. I even looked deep into my material archives and discovered a Geipure tiger I had been saving for over a decade in case one day I had the opportunity to develop lingerie. This became an anchor within the collections and at the time a material or motif rarely used in lingerie.