Date: Spring/Summer 2014
Origin: Italy
Fabric: Silk and embroidered tulle
Brand: La Perla Black Label
A decadent lingerie set in pleated tulle, silk satin and lace trim, embellished with machine embroidery and heavily encrusted beading. The bra is created with molded foam cups joined by silk strips, fastening at the rear with hooks and eyes. The cups are overlaid with pleated tulle, which has been worked into with hand stitched beading and sequins in trompe l’oeil style motifs imitating the nipples of the breast. The matching thong has a central panel of pleated tulle with machine embroidered motifs, and silk satin strips forming a cage structure around the waist and hips.
La Perla was founded in 1954 in Bologna, Italy, by master corsetmaker Ada Masotti. The brand’s name (‘the pearl’) came from the decision to present lingerie as fine jewellery, with the associations of luxury and femininity. The first brand collections were even presented in velvet-lined boxes. The brand treated lingerie as a fashion accessory rather than simply a clothing necessity, using fine fabrics such as French leavers laces, and silks.
The ‘Black Label’ sub-brand was first launched in the Autumn of 2003, as a specialist range of highly luxurious and erotic designs. The designs were designed with the boudoir in mind and were often impractical for everyday wear, with non-traditional materials such as feather trims, heavy beading and even standaway cage structures.
From the collection of Karolina Laskowska
