Yesterday was, believe or not, the fourth annual World Goth Day, that one day in the calendar when it’s cool to celebrate all things dark and macabre without feeling like an anti-social, death-loving pariah.

Today, however, it’s back to your day jobs and time to put away the black eyeshadow and shredded leggings until next May 22 … or at least next weekend.

Which really is a shame. Goth has always been a woefully misunderstood and misrepresented subculture, one whose dour public countenance masks a creative, ever-evolving and highly energized fashion sensibility. And no, it’s not all black.

The designer lingerie community offers a number of fashion-forward choices for Goth girls, too. Some labels like Bela’s Dead and Fairy Gothmother target that niche specifically, while other industry trends — like strappy fetish garments and steampunk styles — overlap nicely into Goth and its many sub-genres.

If there’s one label, though, that deserves a showcase on World Goth Day, it’s the wonderful Australian indie Hopeless Lingerie. Melbourne designer Gaby Adamidis has been producing dark-themed collections, often inspired by horror movies, for several years now and each new offering is more ambitious and accomplished than its predecessors. Life after death, indeed.

The new collection from Hopeless mirrors the brand’s DNA perfectly — elegant mesh and bamboo silhouettes with bold minimalist lines and graphic cutouts. But there’s also a sea change happening here, literally. Hopeless is lightening up, just a little.

The new collection is called ‘As Above, So Below’ and rather than draw from ghoulish source material, Gaby was inspired by the ocean the abundance of life it contains. After researching sea myths and aquatic life, she added leather, cotton lace and New Zealand merino wool to her usual go-to fabrics of bamboo and mesh, creating geometric patterns that mimic those found in nature.

The collection includes soft bras and briefs, layering pieces and several intriguing fetish items like the Pentagram harness (above) and the leather Maja leg garters (below) that were inspired by spiny crab legs (there’s a matching harness as well). And you can tell Gaby puts a TON of thought into her efforts: this is probably the first time we’ve seen a lingerie designer reference the Euclidian algorithm called the Golden Ratio — a kind of mathematical formula for perfect geometric proportions — to explain the shapes and patterns created by her intersecting straps.

If you want to get the full effect of Hopeless Lingerie’s evolving aestethic, try the stunning ensemble shown in the main photo at the top of this post: It includes the Saga bamboo jersey cropped top and the Xanthe full-length mesh skirt over the Cleo bamboo high-waisted brief.

The result is a very contemporary look that will appeal to Hopeless’s stylish Goth devotees and a much broader base of fashion lovers as well. And there’s good news for North American fans: Hopeless was recently picked up by the Seattle-based Craft & Culture, a curated e-commerce collection of emerging designer talent.

Here’s a look at some of the pieces in ‘As Above, So Below’, which are also available from the Hopeless e-commerce site as well as its Etsy shop. (Note: Bottom two photos are from Craft & Culture‘s own lookbook to introduce the Hopeless brand to its store.)

Although materials and manufacturing have changed dramatically in the last 100 years, the actual construction of the bra hasn’t changed much at all. That’s why I began to research and look at where the future of the bra was heading.

The most basic bra has over 26 components and requires more than 30 stitching operations. Currently in the lingerie industry, consumers accept how bras are constructed, we accept the way we get measured, and we accept the components used in bras.

But maybe we should start to ask if there is another way.

One man to question the conventions of bra design is Nigel Coole, inventor of Slip-It, a new alternative to hook-and-eye closures. Although it’s been used for ages, the hook-and-eye snags on clothes in the washer, can become bent and come undone at inappropriate moments. Coole wants to bring the hook-and-eye into the 21st Century.

It’s exciting to see how the Slip-It works, like two hands linking together. One simple motion is all that’s required to do and undo; yet it locks in place when worn due the tension placed upon it. It’s fully adjustable, moves with your body and can be used on lingerie or swimwear.

I asked Coole to modify one of my bras with his innovation so I could try it first-hand. Indeed, it is easier to do up and take off — no more doing the bra up in front and swiveling it around (a convenience that would be very helpful for elderly women).

What struck me about the Slip-It was that instantly you know whether you are wearing the right bra size. It has been widely reported that 85% of women wear the wrong size bra, which is usually too big in the back.

With the Slip-It fastener is used, when a bra is worn too tight won’t lie flat; and if it’s too loose, the tension won’t be there to hold the bra in place. Could this be a way for women to master a correctly fitted band? Here’s a video that shows how easy it is to use:

It’ll be interesting to see which designers, high streets or manufactures embrace and lead the way with the changes going on the industry. Coole has been trying to interest manufacturers in Slip-It for a couple of years now, and when I spoke to him he seemed to be in a Catch-22: one company said they’d take if the other one did too; but so far no-one has made the jump.

For me, I simply couldn’t wait to try this innovative concept. I wait in hope that the industry is prepared to continually update the bra to protect our natural assets.

For further information about the Slip-It please visit www.coolesolutions.co.uk.

Laurie van Jonsson is a UK lingerie designer and author of How To Become A Lingerie Designer (2012). Her new book, Anatomy Of A Bra, will be published in June. Learn more at www.laurievanjonsson.com.

Bridesmaid thank-yous all done? Check. Honeymoon luggage packed? Check. Long weepy talk with mom dad? Check.

One last shag with my secret f-buddy? Check!!

If that sounds like your last-minute wedding to-do list, you’re Agent Provocateur‘s kind of bride.

In a new promotion, the saucy UK lingerie brand is offering wardrobe suggestions for “a night of unspeakable naughtiness” on a bride’s “last night of freedom.”

The kit includes about $2,400 in racy goodies, including a sleek LBD, a Lacy bra and suspenders from AP’s current season, and a patent leather paddle for one last pre-marital spanking. Oh, and a black garter with an inscription that reminds you that “sexy never takes a day off.”

The “Last Night of Freedom” assortment is one half of AP’s newest promotion that caters to “two sides of the bride”. In contrast, its wedding day selection is a classier mix, featuring a classic dressing gown and a pair of feathery mules.

Agent Provocateur just loves to push buttons when it comes to erotic behavior, and this promo pokes fun at couples’ fears of a sexual Continental Divide that separates your single years from an endless future of wedded bliss.

But the company doesn’t really come right out and suggest that infidelity should be part of your wedding preparations.

The “Last Night” set is also recommended for bachelorette parties and, to keep the post-nuptial spark alive (and your groom in line), AP says that spanking paddle is “also appropriate for honeymoon adventures.”

Yes, Virginia, there IS fun after marriage.

[Photos show selections from AP's various bridal offerings: Birthday Suit (top), Zsi Zsi (above), and Darla (below).]

You know you’re onto something good when people are willing to pay for your product, sight unseen, based on the idea alone.

That’s the unique situation facing Knix Wear, a new fashion underwear line out of Toronto.

Knix won’t actually launch its debut line until next month, but it’s already generating a lot more than just buzz: over 150 future customers have contributed $16,000 so far toward Knix’s Indiegogo.com crowdfunding campaign that kicked off two weeks ago. The company is hoping to raise $40,000 by June 1 to pay for the manufacturing costs of that first collection.

In return, Knix’s early adopters will be the first to try out its patented collection of multi-tasking ‘solutions’ garments: leak-proof, odor-resistant undies with a fashion edge.

With a killer brand name and an inspiring trademarked slogan — ‘Changing Underwear For Good‘ — Knix will be the newest player in an emerging market niche aimed at helping women deal with messy situations like incontinence, leaky periods and sweating. (We wrote about another brand in this category, Dear Kate, last year.)

Knix takes the concept of underwear ‘solutions’ to a new level with three product lines: a basic, everyday collection called Knix, the luxury fashion line Knixy, and a high-tech sports line aimed at the gym and yoga crowd called FitKnix.

“A lot of things have evolved with technology, but we felt underwear hadn’t,” Knix founder Joanna Griffiths told Lingerie Talk. “We want to give women solutions to make every day easier.”

Knix is aimed primarily at the estimated 20 million women in North America who experience incontinence and bladder control problems. But there’s an even bigger audience that could involve as many as one in three women over 20: anyone who experiences stress incontinence — occasional leaking triggered by coughing, sneezing, laughing or any activity that puts sudden pressure on the bladder.

Griffiths, a 29-year-old bride-to-be, learned about stress incontinence four years ago from her mother, a doctor with four children.

After working in marketing an PR throughout her 20s for the CBC, Universal Music and the Toronto International Film Festival, Griffiths headed to Paris in 2011 to do an MBA at INSEAD. The business concept for Knix evolved from her studies and helped her win the school’s $20,000 women’s entrepreneur prize in 2012.

Although incontinence is often associated with aging, Griffiths’ research showed otherwise. She spent the better part of a year reading medical journals, talking with the National Association for Continence, and reaching out to urologists and gynecologists.

“The reality is that it affects new moms, women who work out, and there’s a correlation with menopause,” she said. And most women, embarrassed by the problem, suffer in silence.

“So many women don’t talk about it. Only one in 12 have the courage to talk to a doctor and by then they’ve been dealing with it for 5 or 10 years.”

Most products on the market to help women cope are aimed at people 65-and-over, for whom incontinence can be a chronic problem often requiring surgical treatment.

In developing Knix, Griffiths was aiming for an everyday product that wouldn’t look out of place in any women’s lingerie drawer. That meant sleek silhouettes and fashion-sensitive materials; it also meant hiring Kris Goojha, a veteran New York lingerie designer who had worked for such brands as Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret.

“Even if you are dealing with incontinence, women still want to feel beautiful, they want to feel sexy, they want to feel comfortable,” she said.

From a technology standpoint, Knix products combine an absorption layer and a moisture-wicking layer that are heat-sealed around the edges, along with 100% cotton gusset. Antimicrobial silver threading helps eliminate odors and offers a natural alternative to chemical fabric treatments.

Knix will ship orders from its Indiegogo pre-sale in July and launch its e-commerce store on June 1.

Once the first inventory has arrived, Griffiths and her team begin working on new product lines and reaching out to midwives, pelvic floor physiotherapists and other professionals who routinely encounter women dealing with incontinence. The company also hopes to place its products in fitness boutiques, yoga studios and maternity shops, and has designed attractive, compact packaging to make it easy for retailers to showcase the brand.

Here’s a situation that will be painfully familiar to many of our readers in the lingerie industry:

You spent years in fashion school honing your skills and another six months developing the debut collection for your own label. But despite all the pre-launch buzz among your own circle of friends, you had a hard time generating press interest and few customers to show for all your hard work.

What happened to that WWD profile or the phone call from Macy’s or the celebrity placement on Lady Gaga — all of which you surely deserved?

It wasn’t for lack of trying. You sent out press releases, told everyone you knew on Facebook, invited bloggers to a champagne lunch and watched Google hoover up your cash with a short-lived ad campaign. What did you do wrong?

It’s a situation that Alle Fister (above) has seen many times.

“A lot of startup brands want to be all things to all people,” the founder of Bollare Communications told us. “Their marketing strategy is like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. It’s destined to fail. They are working really hard, but not smart.”

The L.A.-based Bollare is a public relations agency serving over 100 fashion labels. It’s also one of a handful of PR firms that have developed a special expertise in helping lingerie brands — especially newcomers — get noticed in a crowded industry with innumerable niches.

Now 31, Fister got her start at ShopBop, the Wisconsin-based designer fashion e-commerce site. When ShopBop was bought by Amazon seven years ago, she set up her own PR consultancy and began seeking clients “who have a story worth telling.”

“Lingerie was always a personal favorite category of mine,” she said. Bollare Communications quickly built up a client list that included many distinctive U.S. lingerie independents such as Only Hearts, Eberjey, Jenna Leigh, Red Daisy and the celebrity-powered IntiMint and BeachMint brands.

Marketing a lingerie brand is a lot different than anything else in fashion, Fister said. Too many brands focus their marketing only their product details, and the results are often clumsy, misdirected and ineffective.

“Lingerie has to make you feel good from the inside out. It’s all about selling the lifestyle and the aesthetic,” she said. “It’s marketing on a more personal level.”

Successful PR for lingerie brands comes down to one thing, she says: telling stories that engage customers. She offers these three keys for developing an effective PR strategy:

1. Know Thyself
Yes, Socrates’ famous advice holds true in lingerie marketing, too. Having a clear sense of your brand identity is vital, Fister said.

She likes to begin her PR consultations by asking new clients to describe themselves in “one punchy sentence that says who you are and what you are about.”

“There are so many wonderful brands in this space, and our job is to get their story out there,” she said. “But to do that I need to know what makes their brand tick, what makes them unique in the marketplace. Unless you know those things, it’s going to be a pretty ineffective campaign.”

“And being a copycat can’t be your punchy sentence.”

2. Set Clear Goals
Brands need to have a clear sense of who they want to reach — and there’s no single cookie-cutter answer here.

Some labels want mostly to pull customers in to their e-commerce sales platform, while others aim to get picked up by big retailers like Bloomingdale’s. Even within the retail market there are numerous avenues to pursue: do you want to mix with youth streetwear sellers like Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters or high-priced luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom? Fashion department stores like Macy’s or high-volume, low-margin juggernauts like Walmart or Target?

Each situation requires a different PR approach. “You need to know what your end sales goal is, and who you are trying to reach,” Fister said. “Knowing your goal will help you decide what your marketing strategy should be.”

3. Use The Right Tools
In the digital media age, there are innumerable tools and technologies for connecting with consumers. Not all of them will be suited to your needs.

Social media marketing “skews younger” for obvious reasons, Fister said, while traditional print campaigns are still a strong way to build overall brand awareness. And getting a coveted “placement” on a fashionable celebrity — the holy grail for many fashion brands — opens doors with luxury retailers.

A lot of lingerie brands “don’t stop to think what will work best for them,” Fister said.

For an example of how this tailored approach to lingerie PR can work, she points to Jenna Leigh Lingerie, a young New York-based luxury brand with a quality reputation and a growing presence in the bridal lingerie market. When Bollare’s team met with Jenna to assess her needs, it was clear she knew exactly what she wanted — to get her lingerie line into Bloomingdale’s.

To achieve that, Bollare focused on placing Jenna Leigh pieces with stylists working for major fashion magazines, “to show Bloomingdale’s that if we get a purchase order, this is the kind of marketing support you can expect.”

They targeted magazines like Cosmo and Glamor that are favored by the same fashion-forward, trend-conscious consumers that Jenna Leigh was trying to reach. Here are some of the results; and yes, Jenna now counts Bloomie’s among its growing network of distribution partners.

Jenna Leigh worn by Jessica Biel (top) in W magazine;
and in a Cosmopolitan fashion feature (above).

(How precise is this kind of approach? Fister points out that a similar engagement for an entirely different New York brand, Only Hearts, involved a different print audience with a broader focus, targeting magazine placements in Vogue, Elle and Harper’s.)

All of this sounds fine for national brands with many distribution channels and big marketing budgets, but what’s a cash-strapped independent to do? Many lingerie labels in that category, fueled by a DIY approach to entrepreneurship, try to manage their own PR with mixed results. But it’s possible to outsource professional PR on a budget, Fister insists.

“A lot of times people figure they can’t even talk to (us),” she said. “But we can provide different scopes of focus. I’d rather partner with you at the beginning and grow together with time.”

One of Bollare’s latest success stories involves one such partnership with the Canadian indie Fortnight Lingerie. Fortnight was a tiny one-person operation when it debuted three years ago, but when its first pro bono video went viral overnight, the young label was thrust into the international spotlight.

Staff from Bollare’s New York office sat down with Fortnight’s young team last year and realized “it was a real fashion brand for real fashion consumers,” Fister said. More importantly, it had a good story worth telling.

In Fortnight’s case, the company’s goal was to increase its presence among boutique retailers across North America. To achieve that, Bollare and Fortnight set out to boost the label’s profile among consumers by sharing its story through social media, outreach to bloggers and connecting with traditional fashion media.

“We have great relationships with strong retailers that understand and support our brand, but getting the retailer is not enough to have the sales of a brand grow,” Fortnight V-P Greg Denny told Lingerie Talk. ”A brand must reach out to the customer on the floor who is buying the product. And the only way to accomplish that is to have product buzz outside of the store.”

“Bollare instantly understood our brand, and every day they reach out to publications and press about our product,” he added.

“Bollare has an entire team that works on Fortnight. They have a showroom where they’re able to expose our brand to the press with an upfront and tactile experience.  They have an office in New York and L.A., and they have thousands of contacts and trusted relationships. This is something we could never acquire without them.”

Fortnight has earned coveted status as a press darling in a few short years. Its creations have enjoyed several plum magazine editorials in both Canada and the U.S. and, for such a small brand, Fortnight has built up a strong social media following that includes over 10,000 Facebook friends, 3,400 Instagram subscribers and 2,500 Pinterest followers. Here are some examples of how Fortnight’s story has captivated the fashion press:

Fortnight Lingerie featured in (from top) Flare, Fashion and InStyle magazines.

After starting out as a “basement business” in 2010, Fortnight is now widely distributed in stores across North American, and widely admired by the fashion media for sleek, sporty, well-crafted designs. And some of its success is directly attributable to its decision to seek outside PR help, Denny said.

“The cost of working with a PR agency is a commitment, but well worth the return on investment,” he said. “I don’t actually think of Bollare as an outside company that we pay for PR. I think of Bollare as one of the departments within our company.”

Bollare offers three areas of PR support for lingerie brands: traditional media, digital media and celebrity placements.

Asked to sum up the basics of a successful PR strategy, Fister offered this simple formula: “Be definiitive about what your goals are, find someone with niche expertise in that space, and work with them relentlessly to achieve that goal.”

It might not be quite the cinematic masterpiece we were hoping for, but the latest film version of The Great Gatsby is still the must-see movie event of the summer for stylistas everywhere.

You don’t have to be a vintage revivalist or English Lit student to be swept away by the Art Deco excess of Gatsby and its timeless story of undying love, unconstrained hedonism and passive-aggressive social climbing.

And if you’re a fan of bejeweled cloche hats, beaded flapper dresses, feathered boas and waves of fringe on boyish, boxy dresses, this Gatsby is a feast for the senses.

The Great Gatsby‘s hold on the public imagination has been unyielding for almost a century, probably because, more than any other period, the Roaring 20s were a decade defined by its exuberant sense of style and newness. That sense of liberation was evident in lingerie trends and innovations from the period, too.

Constrictive corsets and the curvy silhouettes they produced gave way to chest-flattening bandeaus and shapeless waists, while luxurious, decorative boudoir items replaced the purely functional foundations and nightwear of the past.

Silk and lace chemises, slips and teddies that are common pieces in a woman’s wardrobe today were scandalous — and enthusiastically welcomed — innovations in the 1920s, which also helped popularize the wearing of panties and garters.

“To me the Roaring 20s was a cultural explosion of self-indulgence, self-expression and hedonism,” Michelle Blenkinsopp of Shell Belle Couture lingerie told Lingerie Talk. “While jazz music blossomed and the Art Deco movement exploded, the Flapper girls were not only empowered but having the time of their lives while discovering the pleasures of a newly affluent society.”

Michelle is part of a unique sisterhood of lingerie professionals who are keeping the Gatsby spirit alive through their work, either by delivering contemporary interpretations of Jazz Age styles or with faithful vintage creations that stir an intoxicating nostalgia for a golden age. (The photo above shows Gatsby actress Elizabeth Debicki in a silk satin Hollywood cami-knicker from retro revivalist What Katie Did.)

You can find Art Deco references in many designer and department store collections, but below we’ve identified those labels that are keeping the past alive with a curator’s sense of purpose and passion.

There’s a temptation to view the new Baz-Leo-Jay-Z version of The Great Gatsby as a commentary on 21st society, but you don’t really have to look for analogues in this story no matter how old it gets. In good times and bad, Gatsby‘s magnetic appeal endures and its relevance is unchanging.

And like Gatsby himself, we are hopelessy fixated on the unattainable ideal of callow, easy self-indulgence without cost. Boats against the current indeed.

[NOTE: Our main photo above shows looks from (L-R) Ari Dein, La Perla and Shell Belle Couture. Now let's check out our modern Gatsby fan club.]

The Italian superbrand’s 2011 set called The Roaring Collection was much more than just an homage to a bygone era. La Perla incorporated many 1920s style details in the collection — feathers, fringes, art nouveau prints and tailored tuxedo looks — but none of it looked old.

Instead, it mixed highly technical, graphic silhouettes with softer faux-vintage styles to create an aura of glamor they could have only dreamed of in the 1920s. (Just imagine what Daisy or Jordan could have done with La Perla’s halter-top fringed chemise or mesh-and-lace waspie!)

The Roaring Collection was the high-water mark in La Perla‘s creative renaissance of recent years, and pointed the way to the future of retro fashion: one that acknowledges the past but revels in the technical advances and artisanal skills of modern masters.

If you’re a Long Island rascal billionaire who keeps a pied à terre in the city for your mistress, the least you can do is get her some of Ari Dein‘s exquisite silk pyjamas with the Art Deco gold buttons to lounge around in all day.

The Manhattan designer label probably comes closer than any other fashion brand to owning the past in a way that is both convincing and welcome. Founder Arielle Shapiro built her luxury label on the legacy of her family’s mid-century Park Avenue fur company and she draws inspiration from the city’s architecture and great cast of characters. The signature piping in her Boutique Hotel range (left image in main photo at the top of this article) mimics the wainscotting in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where her family once had a shop.

Recent AD collections have referenced foreign locales (Florence and Shanghai) but the Art Deco details reinforce the brand’s nostalgic identity. The Great Gatsby‘s production designer was known to have purchased some Ari Dein pieces during filming in New York.

Designer Michelle Blenkinsopp has collected vintage lingerie and slip dresses from the 1920s and 30s for over 20 years, and is probably the only lingerie designer working today whose career grew out of her “personal obsession” with The Great Gatsby and the era it represents.

“I love everything from this beautiful era of decadence, excess and romance, from the jewellery to interiors and works of art,” Michelle told Lingerie Talk. “I have read The Great Gatsby several times, and I find the languid approach to luxury and wealth irresistible.”

So it made sense that when she launched Shell Belle Couture a few years ago it would include a Gatsby collection that features an heirloom-quality slip dress (above), camisole and tanga made from silk crepe de chine with gold Leavers lace hem.

This label is so devoted to its Jazz Age influences it recently held a Shell Belle Soiree in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, to showcase its new collection. Another soiree is planned for May 23 at Tallulah Lingerie boutique in London to celebrate the opening of the movie … and all things Gatsby.

Pink Purse is one of those fabulous Etsy shops offering niche products you can’t find anywhere else — in this case, a beautiful range of Flapper fashions.

PP’s collection of slips, dresses and accessories are original, hand-made creations that feature waves of fringe, feathers, rosettes, ruffles, gemstones and plenty of other embellishments.

This Oregon-based online boutique does a brisk business and is often sold out of its featured items. So if you are planning a Roaring 20s theme party — or maybe a Gatsby-themed wedding? — make sure to get your orders in well in advance.

The New York label’s popular Lady Day fringed tank and wrap dress are just the sort of thing to wear to the bi-annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island, which attracts thousands of retrophiles in period dress each summer.

The Lady Day pieces offer a modern spin on Gatsby style, with long fringed hems and metallic sparkle that are sure to attract attention when the band strikes up a Charleston number. As close as you can come to an authentic vintage look without visiting a costume shop.

Elsewhere in the Only Hearts catalogue of contemporary lingerie and RTW items, look for their silk charmeuse mini-slip — it’s the kind of timeless, elegant and flirty boudoir piece popularized in the 20s and a fashion staple ever since.

For vintage purists, there is no better source for original 1920s lingerie fashions than San Francisco’s Dollhouse Bettie. It offers a wide assortment of recycled pieces as well as original designs, but DB also tracks down original, never-worn vintage garments known as ‘new old stock’.

Its current catalogue includes a couple of real stunners from the 1920s: an aquamarine silk step-in teddy (top) accented with ecru lace and rose silk chiffon; and the Belle Amie pink silk cami-knicker with floral embroidery and ribbon straps (above). For modern-day fashionistas who can’t get enough of authentic Flapper style, either one of these should be at the top of your must-have list.

And make a point of browsing Dollhouse Bettie‘s ever-changing online catalogue often for new-old pieces or old-new classics like its selection of retro-look Mary Green silk slips.

This new-ish New York boutique label aims to create timeless vintage looks with modern touches like adjustable straps and 21st Century craftsmanship. Nevaeh‘s current collection reveals its 1920s’ influence with Art Deco buttons on the lace bra and garter pairings, and a lovely lace dressing gown that would make Gatsby swoon. And Nevaeh‘s photo campaign could easily be mistaken for R-rated outtakes from the movie.

Toronto designer Carrie Russell has found inspiration in several vintage periods in her recent collections, including the Deco series (top) in black stain and knit, offered in a bustier, merry widow and thong. With Love‘s most memorable piece, though, is its full-length Greta gown (above) with Swarovski crystal embellishments — daringly 100% sheer and with an empire waist that will help you recreate you silent screen star fantasy.

Best news? With Love is offering a 25% off “Gatsby Sale” on these and other items until May 15.

This UK indie label has an amusing name and an extensive catalogue of decorative, hand-made underwear sets, many of them based on a design theme borrowed from Hollywood films.

B&S offers a couple of options created with Gatsby enthusiasts in mind. Its ruched, powder blue Great Gatsby pants (above) are made from stretch silk satin embossed with Swarovski crystals and a fringed tassel. But for the full showgirl effect, you’ll want to try the black fringed Lola Lola knickers (top photo above), which also comes in a matching bra.

If the Jazz Age was just getting started today, instead of 100 years ago, Made By Niki would be the brand most likely to lead the period’s lingerie fashion revolution. MBN is not a retro line, but designer Niki McMorrough scavenges ideas from everywhere, including vintage fashions, for her forward-looking creations.

This is most notable in Niki’s wildly popular fringe-based String range of showy inner-outerwear pieces that seem like a mashup of vaudeville, burlesque and flapper references.

The cropped Swing Top (above) is an offshoot of the String collection from 2012 and the MBN piece that comes closest to recreating the effervescence of Gatsby-era style. A perfect outerwear look for any era and a dancefloor must-have, whether you’re swinging to The Lindy Hop or Icona Pop.

[Last month, a French researcher ignited controversy with a study questioning the benefits of wearing a bra. Amie Heenan, co-owner of Toronto's Melmira Boutique and a regular Lingerie Talk contributor, offers her perspective on the issue.]

Have you heard about the recent controversial study conducted in France? Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon followed 330 women (ages 18-35) for 15 years in order to study the medical, anatomical and physiological effects that a bra has on the body.

After 15 years, his ‘preliminary’ results determined that women might be better off not wearing a bra, which he called “un faux besoin” — a false necessity.

Initially, upon reading it, we at Melmira chuckled and dismissed the article. Over the next few weeks, many of our customers and friends, including the barista at our local coffee shop, asked us our thoughts on the controversial findings. I’ve decided to share my reactions to what I consider to be some major points made by Rouillon in this study.

1. According to Mr. Rouillon, wearing a bra means “supporting tissues will not grow and even they will wither and the breast will gradually degrade.”

   Melmira’s reaction: The way I interpreted this was that Rouillon concluded that the breast tissue does not regenerate with the wearing of a bra, and therefore proves no use! Interestingly, my first impression was that this (sorry, I have to say it again) 15 year study may have missed the whole point.

   It is inevitable: Age, babies, weight gain and loss, genetics and, well, gravity all take a toll on our breasts over time, and wearing a bra will certainly not prevent that from happening. Last time I checked, that wasn’t the reason that women wore bras.

   While there is an argument that wearing a bra may assist in preventing stretch marks when going through the many fluctuations our breasts endure, the effect of a bra is not over time, but rather instant! Simply put, we wear bras because of the effect they have on our figure while wearing them. And to quote Treacle from The Lingerie Addict: “Sagging is okay. More than okay, it’s perfectly normal.”

2. What the French know as the soutien-gorge could, in fact, have a harmful effect on posture and muscle tone.

   Melmira’s reaction: In our most recent Fitter’s Philosophy tips, I wrote: “While Oprah says 85% of women are wearing the wrong bra size, I believe, more often than not, women are wearing the wrong style.” We can’t know for sure whether or not the women in Rouillon’s study were wearing the correct size or style for their bodies.

   Having helped women for over 20 years in the lingerie business, we meet many women on a daily basis who suffer from back pain from the weight of their breasts. In addition to that, we also witness the same number of women find relief from a good supporting bra.

   The science behind this? The teeter-totter effect! As funny as that may sound, it is a very simple fact: if your bra is riding up in the back, your breasts are falling down. Our natural reaction is to then tighten our straps to pull our bust line back up to where it should be. The consequence? The weight is anchored under the breast and, as a result, the back rides higher, straps fall off the shoulders, and pressure builds in the mid to upper back and shoulders.

   When this happens, the bra can most certainly be “harmful in terms of posture and muscle tone,” as Rouillon has indicated. By wearing a bra that is nice and snug and stays parallel front to back, all of the weight of the breast is then managed by the bra and not the back. Outcome? No more pain!

   I am very curious as to whether the women involved in the study were properly fitted and educated on the consequences of ill-fitting and improperly worn bras.

3. One anonymous commenter at the France-Info web site, who said she would not be burning her bra, asked: “Why can’t we put our money into more serious and necessary studies?”

   Melmira’s reaction: Agreed! We have an idea. Let’s ask 3,300 women (as opposed to 330) whether they feel their breasts are causing pain or discomfort in their bodies. Let’s have them all visit a professional fitter and, two months later (instead of 15 years), let’s interview these women and ask them if they feel any better! We can then conclude whether bras are important to a woman’s wardrobe.

   In addition to the medical benefits that we feel a good supportive bra can provide, it extends well beyond that as a service to women. While it is most certainly true that not all women need or want to wear a bra (and all the power to them!), I can say with much certainty that the beneficial psychological effects can be endless.

I believe that while the body is beautiful in its “natural” state, beautiful lingerie can really accentuate a woman’s curves and make her look and feel very sexy. Just as importantly, a nice bra can make a woman feel much more comfortable about her shape and, as a consequence, add comfort and confidence.

Photo: Simone Pérèle

Melmira Bra & Swim Boutique is a Toronto lingerie salon. Melmira’s staff offers expert bra shopping and fitting advice to Lingerie Talk readers each month.

Many of the world’s art masterpieces are works of passion and longing, created by artists who struggled to capture the fleeting spark of their ardor or immortalize the timeless beauty of their beloved.

Such was the case with Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), who met a Hungarian art student named Margit Pogany in 1910 when both were starving ex-pats living in Paris. Though their liaison was brief, Brancusi would spend more than 20 years trying to recreate her essence in a series of busts called Mademoiselle Pogany that featured his muse’s doe-like eyes cradled in her hands.

Working first in bronze and then polished marble, it took the obsessive sculptor two years to complete the first 18″ bust (below) in 1913 and another 20 to create the rest of the 5-piece series.

Brancusi’s obsession became the stuff of art world legend, and his surreal, egg-shaped Mademoiselle Pogany busts became one of the most celebrated and familiar works of 20th Century sculpture. (You can still spend hundreds of dollars on eBay just for plaster knockoffs of the masterpiece.) In his homeland, where the government recently put a $100 million valuation on a single Pogany bust, Brancusi remains a towering cultural and political icon.

Now, more than 100 years later, Mademoiselle Pogany has been given new life — and new meaning — through an inspired lingerie collection from the independent Romanian label Ludique.

For Ruxandra Gheorghe, Ludique’s founder, the project was both a personal and nationalistic statement, one imbued with her allegiance to Romania and her devotion to Brancusi.

“I extract my creative sap from Romanian art, mythology and traditional costumes,” Ruxandra told Lingerie Talk. “I am mirroring the past while looking straight to the future … reinventing the traditional in an innovative manner.”

Ludique is known for combining sensual shapes with graphic, geometric patterns. And if you’re not an art lover, you might miss some of the brand’s cultural references.

For example, in her 2011 debut collection (below), Ruxandra created a stacked-diamond pattern based on Brancusi’s post-war monument, The Endless Column — a tribute to Romania’s war dead and probably the most emotionally powerful artwork ever created in that country. Her next collection was based on the mythical fairies, called Ielele, from Romanian folklore.

In Brancusi’s Mademoiselle Pogany sculptures, Ruxandra saw something universal — the sensual essence of every woman.

“I wanted to bring to light the milady, the modern courtesan, the muse in every woman,” she said. “Pogany was one of the great passions of Brancusi … and I see it as a tribute to femininity that is precious, tough and intimate. Therefore I’ve created the lingerie, as I see it, for the Mademoiselle Pogany in each woman.”

To realize that vision, she mixes delicate fabrics and geometric cutouts, with plenty of criss-crossing elastic straps that serve to define and accentuate a woman’s curves.

“This collection incites the feminine spirit to cherish and reveal her own sensuality,” Ruxandra said, “and sustains the affirmation of femininity with versatile lingerie pieces that can be worn in privacy and also as outerwear.”

In the ambitious, theatrical photo campaign that accompanies the new collection, Mme Pogany is shown as an alluring, royal figure complete with an elaborate tiara-like headpiece created for the shoot by Romanian artist Mioara Fulga. Veiled in sheer tulle and swaddled in velvet, silk and lace, this depiction of Pogany is both sensuous and mysterious — and a little decadent.

That too, is deliberate, since it’s an image that conveys Ludique‘s essence as a brand, Ruxandra said.

“Ludique is not just lingerie,” she said. “It is a state of mind, a second skin which veils the body, a deserved indulgence, an empowering garment like a sensual affirmation that makes women feel good in their body.”

The Mademoiselle Pogany collection includes bodysuits, bras and bikini briefs and high-waisted briefs. In North America, it will be available soon through Bella Bella Boutique.

Below we have images from the promo campaign for the collection, followed by several styles from the Ludique lookbook.

French lingerie and swim label Eres enlisted some A-list talent to help promote is new collection of beach fashions, called Sunwear.

Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld styled and shot these campaign images for the new collection, featuring Bond girl Berenice Marlohe in neo-classical poses that accentuate Eres’ elegant, tailored silhouettes.

The Sunwear collection includes tunics, beach dresses and color-blocked swimsuits — basically, an entire wardrobe for your next yachting vacation. The standout piece is the colorful Fractal kimono dress (below), which retails for about €1600.

Here’s a look at the full campaign, and a shot of the Lagerfeld campaign decorating the windows of an Eres boutique in Paris.

It’s either a vulgar slur or a flattering compliment, depending on your age, self-image and sense of humor.

I’m talking about MILFs.

Now, a U.S. lingerie retailer is hoping to re-purpose the raunchy slang term for hot mamas to help it sell bras. This time, the ‘F’ stands for “fit”, not you-know-what.

True & Co. launched its Are You A MILF? campaign last week to promote its online bra-fitting service.

The campaign is part of the company’s Mother’s Day promotion meant to “celebrate the moms in our lives.” Readers are encouraged to submit photos of their moms to be included in True’s online MILF Gallery. Entries will be included in a Mother’s Day contest, with the top prize being a $100 gift card for a bra make-over.

Customers will also receive temporary MILF tattoos (above) with each sales order until Mother’s Day.

The saucy acronym MILF has been a part of teen boys’ vocabulary (and X-rated movies) since it was used in the first American Pie movie in 1999 to describe actress Jennifer Coolidge — the now-legendary “Stifler’s Mom”.

And some followers of True & Co. find the MILF promotion more crass than clever.

“Sorry, but the original meaning of those letters will never change so you might want to think twice on this one,” wrote one commenter on the True & Co. Facebook page.

“Nothing funny about this MILF joke. it’s sexist and makes a connection between bras and sex,” wrote another. “What’s even worse, it provides a connection between bra fitting and sexual stuff — ICK!”

The San Francisco-based company has been described as the Netflix of the intimates industry, using a proprietary algorithm and simple questions to determine a customer’s bra size without relying on a measuring tape. Customers who pay a deposit are sent an assortment of bras that they can try on and either keep or return.

True & Co. did not respond to Lingerie Talk‘s request for comment.

The images below are from True’s MILF ‘community’ and feature several well-known style bloggers who contributed to the campaign.

[UPDATE, May 3: True & Co. addressed complaints about its MILF campaign yesterday by posting a brief statement on its blog.

"The term (MILF) brings to mind pervy frat boys," the company said, "but who says they should own an acronym?

"We meant the pun and we meant it in good fun. We think there's nothing objectifying about a woman owning her sexuality. We'd be proud to be considered a MILF (Mom I'd Love To Fit)."]