Lascivious is a brand I admit to sleeping on for the last few seasons. I noticed them (and liked them) when I started blogging, but it took a few more years until I could appreciate them. Certain silhouettes, like their trademark frame bra (the “Milla” style, shown above and just below) are industry staples, having become representative of an entire era in lingerie. But underneath those bondage-inspired themes is a kind of casualness, a sort of relaxed self-possession that never feels like it’s trying too hard. Perhaps this is what speaks to me now – that carefree attitude you get when you’ve been around awhile and don’t have anything to prove.
Edge o’ Beyond first made the lingerie industry sit up and take notice in 2014 with a luxurious debut collection featuring lusciously opulent laces paired with delicate golden chains. In 2017, this still-new lingerie brand shows all those accolades were well-deserved with their Spring/Summer 2017 Collection, the brand’s sixth.
I don’t talk much about activewear on TLA and that’s honestly because most activewear campaigns are kinda boring. Impeccably made-up models going through vaguely athletic motions? Nah. Hard pass. But Lane Bryant’s new Livi Activewear Collection? Well, that had me grinning from ear to ear.
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?
