Tomorrow I'm heading out to NYC for A/W 2014 lingerie market (seriously, I can't believe it's time again already), and one of the brands I'm paying a visit to while I'm in Manhattan is Harlow & Fox. For years, fuller busted women have been clamoring for a luxury brand that comes in their size, and Leanna Williams, the designer behind Harlow & Fox, is here to fill the gap. While there was plenty to keep me intrigued with the first collection, I really like the direction things have gone for the second. The silk is lush. The fringe details in particular are quite striking. And that embroidered bone-colored tulle with black trim is exquisite. The latest collection also features silk panelling and heavy guipure. In short, this collection is considerably tighter and more refined than the first one, has a great balance of elegance and modernity, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this designer is capable of in another season.
While I am very excited about this designer, I do have a little bit of hesitation, which I would be remiss not to mention, especially since you all can see the photos as well as I can. Some of the bras appear to not quite "sit" on the model's bust correctly. However, that may be attributable to the model's breast shape, especially since Miss Underpinnings, a full-busted blogger I read often, wrote a glowing review of the brand last season. I asked Leanna Williams directly about the fit issues in the photographs, and here's what she had to say:
"I worked hard on developing the fit after last season’s shoot, and this time round booked the same model that I used before, whose measurements from the agency remained the same as before. However, with multiple unexpected reworks on the samples getting ever-closer to the day of the shoot, there was physically not enough time to send the garments to her ahead of the day for double-checking the fit on her personally, instead of the fitting model. This meant unfortunately we only found on the day her size had actually altered quite considerably, especially with more volume at the top of her breasts, which meant the sample bras made up were quite noticeably the wrong size for her.
As a very small company I wasn't in a position to have already been able to make up multiple samples in case of last-minute problems, or to reschedule and reshoot with either a new sample or new model to be able to show the fit correctly, so I took the decision to go ahead as it was. It was disappointing for me to not be able to show the pieces as they will look in reality, and to not have had the opportunity to put right the errors, but I truly hope the images will still convey the mood and feel of the collection, and still do some justice to how the pieces may look if they had been the correct size for the model. It was my responsibility to allow enough time for sampling problems to arise, and still have the chance to double-check the sizing before the scheduled shoot, and on this occasion I didn’t get it right.
When the collection is available to purchase later in the year, it will be shot in a studio, correctly sized, in much greater detail, to show the fitting on a body. I hope this helps to understand why the bras don’t sit right in the images, and I’m sorry to have not been able to visually show this, as of course the entire point of the range is to create luxurious pieces, yet still with a supportive fit for a fuller bust. I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks of the new range, and improving on this next season."
Retail prices for the new collection are £165 (approximately $277 USD) for bras, £95 (approximately $159 USD) for briefs and thongs, and £125-£135 (approximately $209-226) for suspender belts, with the double lined silk fringed kimono at £650 (approximately $1,090). All pieces are designed and made in England, and are available in sizes 30-38 DD-G and XS-XL corresponding to UK 8/10-16/18. The range will be available beginning October 2014.
What do you think of Harlow & Fox's second collection? Do you see anything you would buy?