A couple of years ago, I wrote an article on black-owned lingerie brands and it became one of TLA’s most popular articles to-date. Despite what many business experts or industry authorities have to say about the importance of “neutral” or “colorblind” companies, it turns out many people want to support underrepresented or marginalized designers. This is especially when these brands respond to a need the larger intimate apparel industry has neglected for decades.
When I saw JBC Lingerie’s new lookbook, “DAD I’M GOING OUT,” pop up on my timeline, I was in awe. I saw models in a range of shapes and sizes all sporting badass lingerie and an IDGAF attitude. JBC Lingerie tapped into a level of inclusion rarely seen in lingerie.
As a lingerie designer, people often tell me my work sounds like a ‘dream job.’ An aura of fantasy and glamour surrounds the fashion industry. However, the reality is lingerie design can be pretty boring most of the time, with very little creativity involved at all.
One of our previous “Best of Lingerie” winners, Tisja Damen first caught our eye with intricate patchwork lingerie that was more akin textile art than intimates. I fell in love with their unique, directional approach, and I’ve been checking in on the brand ever sense. In a way, it’s almost harder when you debut with such a strong perspective. People expect brilliance, and that can be a difficult bar to achieve season after season. Fortunately for the lingerie world, Tisja Damen manages to clear it easily.
I first met one of the founders of Department of Curiosities at the Oxford Conference of Corsetry. Gerry Quinton, under the label Morua Corsetry & Couture, actually designed one of my favorite pieces – a cream overbust corset with golden stars made of fragmented glass. I was honestly delighted when I first heard the news of her new lingerie label. Corsetry is a bit of niche area, inaccessible and intimidating to many. Loungewear on the other hand…well, who doesn’t want some of that?
