WWD Section II ASSISTANTS: CATHERINE PERIDIS AND DANICA TERLITSKY PERIDIS AND DANICA TERLITSKY CATHERINE ASSISTANTS: Spring’s freshest crop of lingerie has arrived, delivering breezy layers, fl irty details and bright bursts of color. Here, Ari Dein’s silk chemise over Puma Body Train’s poly-liquid titanium and spandex sports bra. For more, see pages 14 to 19. CornThe Shape of Things to Come/8 | The Season’s Star Key Trends/20 | Lady Bra-Bra/6 MODEL: SVIETA/ WOMEN DIRECT; HAIR BY MICHELE SALVADORI FOR MARIO DIAB SALON NY; MAKEUP BY MIZU FOR MAYBELLINE NEW YORK; FASHION NEW YORK; MIZU FOR MAYBELLINE MAKEUP BY NY; FOR MARIO DIAB SALON MICHELE SALVADORI HAIR BY WOMEN DIRECT; MODEL: SVIETA/ PHOTO BY DONNA DEMARI; STYLED BY BOBBI QUEEN 2 WWD MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011 SECTION II WWD.COM XXXXXXXXXXXX WWDINTIMATES/UNDERCURRENTS Innie or Outie? LINGERIE MIGHT BE among the hottest fashion accessories in Hollywood, but some- times a look can be overplayed or under- played, depending on a celeb’s personal taste level. WWD asked several entertainment divas an important question: Is innerwear as out- erwear a fashion do or a fashion don’t? Here, an eclectic mix of celeb yeas and nays. — MARCY MEDINA “For me it’s a fashion don’t because I have breasts and a bum, so it’s accentuated. But if you have a body like Kate Moss, you can get away with it really well.” — Alice Eve ▲ “I like the ‘undone’ look of being able to see a bra under the shirt or dress. But if it takes you six hours to look undone, it’s not good. Don’t try too hard.” — Molly Sims “I’m not much for fashion dos and don’ts. Depending upon how you put it all together, everything has its time and place.” — China Chow “I have to say I love it [innerwear as outerwear], because it really helps a woman out, you know? Because it’s always like, ‘Oh no, you can see my bra.’ It can be such a pain. And lingerie is so pretty, you know? It’s nice to show it sometimes.” — Emmanuelle Chriqui ▲ “I love a colorful bra peeking through. The slip aspect I’m not sure about. If it’s a vintage slip, like in the Fifties, when slips really looked like dresses, that I think is gorgeous. But a normal slip should stay on the inside. I feel like women shouldn’t give away their secrets.” — Jennifer Love Hewitt “I have a Zadig & Voltaire slip I wear with a high- waisted skirt, and it looks like a top. You can also sort of see the bottom through the skirt, and I love it. When it’s done well, the lingerie looks is really feminine and sensual. There’s nothing better than a Dolce & Gabbana corset dress to flatter your body and celebrate your curves.” — Rose Byrne www.hanrousa.com “I like the look because I like things that are deconstructed and when the inside comes out. I’m a big Alexander McQueen fan. It’s great when women show off their bodies.” — Elisabeth Röhm ▲ Please visit us at CURVENV in Las Vegas 8/22 – 8/24 and CURVENY in New York 7/31 – 8/2 EVE PHOTO BY BECK STARR/FILMMAGIC; HEWITT BY CHELSEA LAUREN/WIREIMAGE; ROHM PHOTO BY MICHAEL TRAN/FILMMAGIC CHELSEA LAUREN/WIREIMAGE; ROHM PHOTO BY HEWITT BY BECK STARR/FILMMAGIC; EVE PHOTO BY 4 WWD MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011 SECTION II WWD.COM WWDINTIMATES/UNDERCURRENTS Strap Happy MITRA, ADRIAN NINA AND DANICA TERLITSKY GEORGE CHINSEE, THOMAS IANNACCONE, ROBERT JOHN AQUINO, PHOTOS BY Oops, your bra is showing! That was then, this is now. This summer, lingerie slipups have become a must-do for New York’s stylish set. 6 WWD MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011 SECTION II WWD.COM WWDINTIMATES/UNDERCURRENTS Clockwise from here: Lady Gaga performs in Chiba, Japan; on the runway at Mugler’s Charlotte’s Web Site fall show; on stage in Toronto (all 2011), and at CHARLOTTE SEMLER IS PROBABLY BEST KNOWN in Britain for the Accessories launching the racy, luxury lingerie and sex toys label Myla with her busi- Council’s Excellence ness partner, Nina Hampson. But when life took a turn and she found awards (2009). herself the mother of twins and living in the picturesque English coun- tryside, she put her old life firmly behind her. But she didn’t give up on lingerie. Today, she sits at the helm of a four-year-old e-commerce ven- ture known as Charlotte & Co. that’s all about her new lifestyle in the Cotswolds, an exclusive, hilly area in west-central England. It’s home to Kate Moss, Elizabeth Hurley and the Daylesford Organic farm. Instead of sexy playthings, she’s selling sheepskin slippers, hot water bottle covers, velour track suits and caftans. The core of the offer, though, is lingerie — from lacy undies, camisoles and negligees, to a range of foundation garments, to silk and wool thermal underwear. Charlotte & Co. today has sales of 1 million pounds, or $1.6 million, annually, and is growing at a rate of 30 per- cent a year. Semler still holds a small stake Slips from in Myla, but is no longer involved with the Charlotte & Co. business, which was sold to private equity investors. She runs Charlotte from her home and outsources production and order fulfi llment. The staff are all part-timers and work from their own homes. Half of the sales come from online orders, and half are made by telephone. Although lingerie remains its core, Lady Bra-Bra there are more than 200 products on offer and bestsellers include outer- wear, like down coats and gilets with rabbit fur trim. The average sale is LADY GAGA HAS NEVER BEEN ONE to shy away from about 85 pounds, or $136, and the the innerwear-as-outerwear look — often showcasing company processes 200,000 orders a year. her undergarments by simply forgetting to wear Next up is a body and bath line, due in the fall, and Semler plans pants or a top. to increase her range of down coats and build the cashmere line. The pop star has fl aunted a variety of brassieres, “I wanted to do something different from Myla, and I chan- from the machine gun-lingerie hybrid she sported in neled the change in my own personal lifestyle,” she said. “There’s her “Alejandro” video to the bedazzled cups she had on a yummy mummy element to the collection, because my custom- while fl ipping off the paps at a Mets game last summer. ers are international jet-setters who shop in London, but who also Then there was the exploding pyrotechnic piece spend a lot of time at home — and don’t want to look horrible. she wore performing at the MuchMusic Video Awards People are buying into the lifestyle thing.” — SAMANTHA CONTI in 2009. Here, a look at the best of Gaga’s bras. — TAYLOR HARRIS Lighten Up BRITISH DEPARTMENT store chain Debenhams wants bras to be a less- weighty affair, literally. The chain recently launched an ultralight T-shirt bra, which tips the JAG GUNDU/GETTY STEVE EICHNER IMAGES; ACCESSORIES GIANNONI; TORONTO SHOW BY COUNCIL BY GIOVANNI SHOW BY scales at just 1.7 ounces. To achieve Debenhams’ the featherlight weight, the retailer lightweight bras. eliminated stitching in favor of bonded seaming, and worked with a thin foam for the cups. The bra retails for 18 pounds, or $29. — S.C. Wolford’s eyelash Hue’s scroll Emilio Cavallini’s Lure’s graphic lace trim tight. pattern lace tight. bold animal mesh tight. pairs at a time to make her legs look print tight. smooth and buffed. Leg It Out Between June 2010 and May 2011, tights were the big winner with a 29.2 LEGWEAR IS KICKING it up percent increase in dollar sales totaling a notch. $414.7 million, according to research After a few years in the dol- fi rm The NPD Group. Sheer hosiery drums, executives at legwear com- edged up 1.7 percent to $959.4 million. panies say sales of tights, leggings “The tight is no longer just an acces- and sheers picked up dramatical- sory, it is a garment unto itself,” said ly this year, with increases of 10 designer Emilio Cavallini. “Miniskirts TOP TRENDS FOR FALL 2011 ■ Bright colors. ■ Tonal and percent or more. expose so much of the leg that tights A couple of factors are driv- are an integral part of any outfi t. Let’s contrasting patterns ■ Black-and- ing the category: First, there’s face it, the leg makes up more than 30 like geometrics white patterns. been a huge emphasis on the percent of a head-to-toe look.” and fl orals. leg, short skirts, slits and asym- “Ready-to-wear is really on our ■ Stripes and large ■ Anything with lace, metric hemlines on fashion side,” said Cathleen Moxham, designer dots and other graphics. whether a trim or runways. Second, the recession of Hanes legwear at Hanesbrands Inc., ■ Shine and crystals. allover pattern. has transformed legwear into an citing more sheers and ultrasheers, affordable indulgence, like buy- opaques, tights, patterns and texture. ■ Fishnets, printed ■ The return of ing a new lipstick. And, not for- “A very feminine cycle continues into meshes and artisanal fl esh-tone and getting the star quotient, legwear spring and the next two seasons. It’s all crochet looks. cosmetic tinted sheers. is fl aunted by divas like Rihanna, about looking very feminine, polished Katy Perry, Ke$ha and Beyoncé, and pulled together.” who performs wearing several — KARYN MONGET HUE TIGHT PHOTO BY ROBERT MITRA; ALL OTHER LEGWEAR PHOTOS BY THOMAS IANNACCONE; GAGA JAPAN PHOTO BY JUN SATO/WIREIMAGE; MUGLER JUN SATO/WIREIMAGE; PHOTO BY THOMAS IANNACCONE; GAGA JAPAN MITRA; ALL OTHER LEGWEAR PHOTOS BY ROBERT HUE TIGHT PHOTO BY 8 WWD MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011 SECTION II WWD.COM WWDINTIMATES With a Little Help From My Friends Everyone can use a nip or a tuck now and then.