here. - Andrew Nimmo Translation

A G E NT P ROV O CATE U R
&
ou work in an industry which demands a constant
flow of fresh ideas. Where do you get your inspiration from and what inspired your latest collection?
I’m a big cinema fan and my work is especially inspired
by female characters.
We use video a lot to develop our campaigns because I feel that the
characters or lingerie pieces that I create really come to life when they
are in motion.
The sunglasses collection is our most recent line. I wanted it to be fun,
lively and full of colour. We started off the mood board with a «bad
girls on the run» theme, evoking the trash cinema feel of «Thelma and
Louise» and «True Romance». The spirit of Courtney Love and Vanessa
Paradis also provided me with a lot of inspiration. Although there are
eighties and nineties influences in there, our lingerie pieces are still
rooted in the style of the fifties.
Did you choose Olivier Zahm for your lookbook? Do you prefer to
work with French photographers? In your role as Artistic Director
do you think it is important to be involved in all the stages of the
creative process?
Olivier Zahm is a fantastic photographer, someone who we really
admire here at Agent Provocateur. We laughed so much during the
shoot, he’s so funny and extremely bright. He also has this fantastic gift
of instantly putting models at ease, so that they can just take off their
clothes and pose for shots which are very beautiful and natural. He’s
fashion through and through.
What do you make of the return of retro in lingerie?
We’ve been doing the retro thing for years, ever since the beginning of
Agent Provocateur.
Retro...ah! Is that what they say on the street? We’ve always been based
on retro style, it’s been part of our DNA since the brand was created in
1994. Our first collection was heavily inspired by 1950s lingerie pieces,
they’re exactly what people were after.
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Large panties, girdles...they were the same then as they are now. At the
moment there is this big nineties revival which is pretty ironic as that
was the era when we started up.
That said, you have to be careful with retro because you can end up
with that frumpy, grandmother look that isn’t very sexy.
It’s a style that must be brought up-to-date properly. For example, we
cut the girdle and the corset to inject some style and to really accentuate a woman’s curves. I actually wear them all the time.
I’m quite pleased that retro is a trend, particularly when it comes to
fifties lingerie pieces. It’s lingerie that really makes the silhouette, you
wear a corset to keep the size while the girdle lets you showcase your
buttocks.
What is your view on femininity today? How would you like women
to perceive the word ‘lingerie’? What message do you want to pass
on to future generations?
Femininity: femininity for me is being confident with your lingerie,
wearing really sexy underwear ... the underwear gives a shapely figure,
so that you can reveal two different sides to your personality.
Message for teenagers: Cover up and leave more to the imagination :
wearing more doesn’t mean to say that you’re less sexy, on the contrary.
What big projects do you have in the pipeline? Any new muses or
new collaborations on the horizon?
We’re launching a designer capsule collection by Penelope and Monica
Cruz, which won´t be sold in Agent Provocateur boutiques but rather
through distributors and at lower costs. Monica is really incredible,
she´s a professional dancer who was also the face of our brand in 2010.
Working with the Cruz sisters was a natural step, we´ve known them for
five years now so they’re really part of the family. They’ve always been
inspired by Agent Provocateur and are strongly committed to us.
SPECIAL THANKS TO MALAIKA MARIE-JEANNE
PHOTOS : SPRING SUMMER 2013 LINGERIE COLLECTION
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Who is your lingerie aimed at? Would you like to develop a lingerie
range for women who have had breast cancer or obesity issues?
Agent Provocateur target audience: Agent Provocateur is for all women.
We have different types of lingerie to suit all types of people. While we
do have a very fun, sensual aesthetic, Agent Provocateur’s DNA is not limited to that alone. Above all, we aspire to create quality lingerie which
is tailor-made to the female body, re-invigorating a woman’s curves.
The first clothes that a woman puts on must keep her figure in a good
place and make it look nice.
We truly cater for many women’s tastes. When a woman is given, or
purchases, her first Agent Provocateur piece, she’ll generally come back
to us in the future.
Breast Cancer : Yes, I would love to design a lingerie range for women
who have had breast cancer. Many women develop it, so it is important
for them to feel confident with themselves and their femininity. In fact,
we’ve actually done this for a private client.
Va Va Voom Women and Agent Provocateur for voluptuous figures :
Yes, we do larger sizes, we have already designed pieces for Beth Ditto
(lead singer of The Gossip).
What advice would you give to women wanting to awaken their
femininity, spice up their femininity or spice up their sex life?
They are all very different things.
What I would suggest is that these women come and visit the Agent
Provocateur boutiques, where they can try on various pieces and our
assistants are on hand to offer them advice.
Is fashion an art form in your opinion?
It’s a controversial question, even more so for me because I believe that
fashion is controversial.
I think that for some designers fashion is an art form; I’m a lingerie designer rather than a fashion one. People see us as a fashion company
because we’re in the limelight, I guess...I don’t design my collections
according to what’s «in», I work , above all, with a woman’s figure and
comfort in mind. Some designers devise their collection not so much
as fashion but art, as is the case with Azzedine Alaïa, Thierry Mugler and
other newer designers. I really like what Sarah Burton did for McQueen,
because she knows how to make a woman sexy!
Likewise, Tom Ford is just so ‘sex’ if you know what I mean ... he is definitely what you’d call an «agent provocateur»!
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BY MARZ ATASHI