Agent Provocateur Leads The Lingerie Pack

When it comes to high-end lingerie, Agent Provocateur reigns supreme. Founded in 1994 by Vivienne Westwood’s son Joseph Corre and his wife Serena Rees, Agent Provocateur offered a mix of glamour and femininity that Calvin Klein’s booming androgyny had taken away. Fifteen years later, women are still going for such racy, luxurious lingerie and many refuse to give it up despite the economic downturn—last year, Agent Provocateur’s sales were up 26% and the whole high-end lingerie industry has taken notice.

“People are going towards quality,” says Michele Scarr, owner of London lingerie boutique Bordello. “This year we have been doing much better than last year, women are definitely spending more money on quality pieces, practical but still sexy. They are not going just for bedroom wear but for something they can wear on special occasions, under dresses to go to a party for example,” she continues.

Instead of buying lingerie that is going to fade after a few washes, women are looking to invest in something more special and with a longer spectrum of life. “I think people are going more for quality now because it lasts longer,” echoes Pamela Slater, owner of Blush Lingerie in Cheshire. “We have a very broad range of customers—although there is probably an increase in older ladies buying quality lingerie,” she notes.

If quality is becoming a must in the choice of a long lasting lingerie, touching even those in their advanced age, the experience women are looking for is as much about luxury as it is about sexiness. “A woman wearing a scrumptious pair of knickers promotes in herself a sexy superhero feeling which exudes itself as a confident and positive sexuality,” explains Corre.

Agent Provocateur aims to provide women with something to stimulate, enchant and arouse themselves as well as their partners. “Women are looking for more time indoors so that’s why they are buying nicer lingerie,” argues Zara Drei, press officer at Lulu and Lush in London. “When they come to us it’s because they want something very pretty and special.”

Director of Honeys Lingerie Boutique

—Camilla Canocchi