PARIS — French lingerie label Aubade has called on Elie Saab for a capsule collection playing on the couturier’s sense for luxurious materials and red carpet glamour.
The 17-piece line will span lingerie and nightwear, respectively titled “My Desire” and “Whimsical Affair,” with four bra styles, four bottoms as well as suspenders, bodies, long silk pants and a kimono.
This marks the first time that the couturier has worked on lingerie, a “very personal and intimate item” that he had never worked as a full line before, Elie Saab told WWD by email.
“Lingerie has an essential place in women’s wardrobes, enhancing and molding the body. Well-chosen lingerie can change the silhouette and the way an outfit looks,” he continued, noting that this collaboration enriched the Elie Saab universe with “a coherent product choice that addressed the different needs of our clients.
Aubade’s brand and product director Samar Vignals described the collaboration with the couturier as the meeting of two universes, an “encounter that was like sharing the dedication to high craftsmanship and the customer,” an “empowered woman with a sense of luxury.”
Conversations started with fabrics and continued with experimentation on embroideries, Vignals said, resulting in pieces using geometric embroideries, offered in a “Naughty Black” colorway with gold thread and a delicate pink called “Love Affair.” A bejeweled Elie Saab logo in gold-tone zamac completes each design.
“I worked each piece of the collection to be worn as a garment or an undergarment,” the couturier said, pointing out cutout elements that blended “the lingerie universe with that of ready-to-wear” thanks to strategically placed elements that kept the idea of lace and transparency while remaining suitable for daywear.
This collaboration also fit in with Aubade’s desire to explore the territory between lingerie and rtw. Some pieces were designed to “complete the wardrobe,” Vignals said, noting how underwear-as-outerwear trends saw bustiers paired with blazers or camisoles worn during the day with lace and transparent elements on bodies, bustiers and camisoles strategically placed to be suitable as daywear.
Previous Aubade collaborations have included capsules with couturiers Christian Lacroix, Viktor & Rolf and, most recently, Iris van Herpen; the Karl Lagerfeld brand, Chinese artist Hong Wai, and swimming champion Camille Lacourt for a men’s swim range.
The Elie Saab x Aubade collection will be available from July in conjunction with the lingerie specialist’s fall 2023 offering. Bra sizes will run up to a G cup in certain styles, while bottoms will go from an XS to an XXL. Loungewear will go from XS to XL.
Most of the line will be sold in the lingerie specialist’s physical and online stores, as well as its retail network, with retail prices going from 80 euros for a tanga to 300 euros for the negligee in the nightwear range, with a two-piece underwear set priced at around 200 euros.
An additional dress, priced over 1,500 euros, will be exclusive to Aubade’s e-commerce and selected department stores. It will come with complimentary retouching, congruent with the expectations at this price range and furthering the couture impression of the line, Vignals said.
