Lining Non-Foam Cups

A Comparison..

An Elle Macpherson mesh underwire bra is fully lines with stabiliser, crucial because of the very lightweight material and the ruched upper cup.



In comparison, this Pleasure State White label bra is interesting as is a two piece lace cup, with the lower half lined with stabilizer and a sling made from what appears to be a double layer of nylon stretch net. Once it was tried on, there was an obvious difference in support to the elle macpherson design, it added extra shaping and stability for the wearer.

I suppose the sling eliminates the need for a upper cup lining? Thoughts?

competitors reseach

Chantelle, the highest lingerie brand in France, which is started in 1876. The Target market of Chantelle is from 25 to 45 years old city-style women. Their likely costumers are those women who has their own career and has the personality of smart, stronge, independent and comfindence. Every pieces of Chantelle has been designed well with the best quality of material, such as the high class Leavers lace, Guipure lace and Textronic lace. In order to give the comfort to the skin and stressless, Chantelle often use the soft expensive cotton and silk. They are always trying to be perfect in the quaility control and give the best feeling of lingerie to the costumers. The perfect detail is also one of the characteristics of Chantelle's designs. Their designs are more prefer the feminie and elegant way through laces and details. As Chantelle is a international brand, which is sell in USA, UK, France, Taiwan, Swiss, Italia and so on, Chantelle has been considered as a high class brand and which means it produces the expensive product. The price for basic bra starts from $50, the hero bra's price range is up $200. For a brief, it starts from $40 and hero pant is up to $100. The price is always relative to the quality and the designs and as a famous international lingerie brand with long history, this price rang is very suitable for their target market.

Lise Charmel is one of is the most luxurious French Designer Brand you can find in French Lingerie. The rich embroideries, opulent fabrics, soft tulles and attention to details will appeal to even the most refined tastes. The luxury of Charmel is the presentation of the enjoyable life of French females. It combine the traditional elegance look of lingerie and the sexy cut to keep their costumers in the top of sexy trend of lingerie. The likely costumers of Lise Charmel is the independent women from 25 to 40-years-old. Compare to Chantelle, the designs of Lise Charmel is more suitable for the modern young womens with their sexy element. With the situation of international brand, Lise Charmel has a price range for bra from $50 to $220, then for the pant from $40 to $110. The price range of Lise Charmel is fit for their brand statement and is a good example from our Lady Libertine.

Elaine

Construction Details...Calvin Klein Basics

Research into different brands over the past few months has revealed techniques of construction that might help with our Garments.

This G-string is part of the Calvin Klien Basics range - it is lace with a microfibre gusset and backpeice. This entire section is bagged out with a seam at the crotch. the fabric is very smooth and flat. The double layered microfibre gives it strength and the lustre of the fabric against th lace still sucsesfuly maintains a feminine and lightweight look whilst having th functionality of a basic. This is an idea that should be considered for Lady Libertine




The bra posted above is Calvin Klein basics full cup convertible bra. A minimalist design is acheived through smooth surfaces and finishes. It is a moulded cup, with a lace cradle (reinforced wih stabilizer and elastic) and convertable straps.

The interesting feature is the bagged out side peices which sit very flat against the body. It really adds to the overall effect and helps to conceal visible lines through clothing.

Lascivious- Meg

Lascivious - UK Luxury Lingerie Brand

Basic Darted Bra - back veiw


Basic Darted Bra- Front Veiw

Fashion Bra

Lascivous - a UK label created by an ex- Agent Provocateur and an ex-Myla designer duo- this brand stands out from other competitors for it's experimental, directional and Luxurious designs.

In comparison to other labels such as La Perla, Simone Perele and popular Australian luxury labels (pleasure state) - what stand out are the extemely modern designs, heavy use of block colours and solid lines.

In the designers words the label is "driven by the aesthetics of sex" - a bit different from what Lady libertine is aiming for, so prehaps not a direct competitor. The label is availability is very limited in Australia, and the price points are much higher, with basics starting at $110 for a basic bra, up to $210 for a hero bra.

So despite these things, Lascivoius can be seen as a competior for Lady Libertine n terms of design and fabrication. The brand has established a very strong signiture look which carries on throughout the entire label, through basics to bridal and showgirls.

The basics are amazing in that they are fashion peices that can be worn as eaily as basics. The designs are functional and attention grabbing, unlike and other designer I have seen.

Fabrication and colourways are limited and are very muted, but with very strong highlight colours. It is not a weakness though as so much is going on within the design, it complements and highlights the work and structure of each garment.

Collaborations with artists and side projects into accessories and art are also a unique brand feature which no Australian Lingerie label has really ventured into, this creates more of an overall 'lifestyle brand' feel to the label, somehting Lady Libertine could work towards.

The website is http://www.lascivious.co.uk/

Elegantly Scant - Meg

Elegantly Scant

Potential Competitors Continued....

I thought it was important to take note of the smaller Australian brands such as this one, Elegantly Scant. It is a label based in Sydney with a boutique in Paddington and stockists Australia and internationally - with an online store also.

Many of the small Australian labels including who choose to distribute internationally are gaining popularity primarily in the UK- it seems this Australian label has more stockist offshore than locally! This may just be to do with the size of the Australian market in comparison to british - or prehaps a lack of appropriate retail outlets for this sort of product?

The designs are made in Australia, on a small scale, and the brand has been around for less than 5 years. Their focus is attention to detail and personality in design.

Elegantly Scant design price their products so that a set will add up to $100 usually (Bra- $60, Breif $40). This is an interesting pricing strategy, appealing for consumers as there is sometimes a psycological barrier once you cross the $100 price point.

Check out the website for the cuttent collections

www.elegantlyscant.com

More potential competitors...

Top: Smitten Kitten
Centre: Roberta Glass

Lower: Willow, " Homage to Newton"

Jo has already highlighted some of the main likely competitors of Lady Libertine, and has provided some great details and descriptions as to how these brands allure customers and what they provide. I wanted to include two local labels which have a relevance in terms of the similar size to our brand and the market for which we are aiming to cater for. We found that Australian and New Zealand labels had the ability to create beautiful, sensual undergarments which didn't cross the boundaries into being garish or overtly tacky.

Willow:

Kit podgornik's lingerie, in particular " homage to newton" demonstrates her desire to create elegant and fashionable intimates with substance in their design. Podgornik noticed a missing link in the lingerie market, both locally and internationally, of undergarments that were edgy and fashionable and beautiful. Lace and frills had long been considered synonymous with fine lingerie and she wanted to challange this mindset and to create more streamlined and bold quality garments. The marketing therfore uses strong imagery of powerful lines and structure to convey the essence of willow and its lingerie. Garmets use strong lines and repitition in bold, block colourways allowing the intricacies of design to take preference on the floor and in marketing photography.

In terms of stockists, willow lingerie has 63 stockists worldwide, 24 of those being on australian shores and internationally stores such as selfridges, Browns focus and Harvey Nichols are selling her wares. While comparing the brand's construct to lady libertine, this distribution of stockists as well as an online option is similar to what we would aspire to in our brand's development stage as we enter into the market. This gives the brand accessability.

Her pricepoints have been altered and continue to vary from one season to the next, but currently her bras retails from $69-$99 for simple styles and up to $189 for the more intricate. briefs similarly have a split price range beginning at $39 and reaching to $89.

Our concept of pricing when considering fine silk and quality components is really drawn from willow's pricing concepts, though altered for our specific customers.

The first willow store in victoria has recently opened in hawksburn melbourne allowing customers to see how Willow wants to market their garments instore. Her interiors are clean and white, with scattered sculpture and works of art. filteredimages taken from hewr new york show act as filters in the background, never intending to intrude..

Roberta Glass:

Although from new zealand originally, Roberta Glass has made ausralia home and the birthplace for her Nine year old label. Glass caters for a similar target customer as does Willow and Lady Libertine, a woman who is confident in herself and her style, and one who wants to invest in quality pieces made of high quality components and posessing a unique design.

Her garments sit in a niche which has managed to obtain a large following of loyal customers even though over 60% of sales are from Roberta Glass online. Part of her success has come from repeating successful shapes and design lines in different fabrics and colourways each season. This appeals to customers who already love the lingerie from Roberta Glass for its fit and line while the beautiful fabrications also make the undergarments appealing to new customers.

The brand is stocked in very few boutiques in Australia, ( as previously said, many of her customers obtain her garments online ), but those which it does occupy have a similar brand presence. Smitten kitten is her main stockist in australia, and this is proven in her latest collection with a set named " smitten" after the Melbourne Store. The store has a definate boudoir/burlesque atmosphere with rich red velvets and papered walls creating a dramatic and enclosing space. The choice to stock her lingerie her suggests that her brand is to be seen as being affiliated with the higher end labels such as Chantal Thomass, though i believe it is really a muted version of a high fashion lingerie label, more appropriately aligned with willow in terms of its likely customer.

This store mood and message differs from our branding concept, and we have chosen to steer away from this partially to create a point of difference in our brand and partially to represent our priority. That is to represent the essence of our Australian customer.

- Madeline

potential competitor marketing techniques:

I have looked at possible competitor labels such as La Perla, Chantal Thomass, Agent Provocateur (AP) and Pleasure State. Each has employed different marketing techniques to promote and increase the growth of the label...

Chantal Thomass: focusing strongly on luxury, while addressing the common points of "Femininity, Sensuality, Glamour, Luxury, Seduction and Impertience" Chantal Thomass has differentiated her label through the synopsis between the brand and her personality (using her physical apperance as an identifying point). It started with a chinese shadow image of herself and from this the distinctive black, smooth 'bob' haircut was an image that continues to be associated with Chantal Thomass. The 'bob' is worn on the photographic models fro the web site and often in parades. A notable use of this image was in her first parade, where the invite was actually a 1/2 mask of her eyes and bob hair cut. On the back it was printed "If they dont let you in, tell them that you're my sister" (http://www.chantalthomass.fr/)

Chantal Thomass, like other labels such as La Perla and AP, uses her web-site as a strong marketing tool, reflecting the french (provincial) roots of the designer and the label. The web site is interactive and entertaining for the consumer, with the use of "flip-cards" to differentiate between collections; parades; philosophies/history; photo shoots; other Chantal Thomass products + new and up-coming designers Chantal is collaborating or choosing to promote. These individual cards can be attached to a blog or emailed to "friends" reflecting the label's desire to stay on-top of technology. Chantal Thomass also offers a free online club, offering less than the AP club but continuing to email updats on new collections, events etc.

Agent Provocateur: focus is on making high quality lingerie available to the public that "...creates flair to stimulate, enchant and arose both wearers and their partners." (www.fashionforum.org/fashion-brnads/agent.provocateur.html) "When we started Agent Provocateur we really wanted to make people understand that it's okay to be sexy, feel sexy, and also to change people's prudish attitude towards sex..." (RUSSH Magazine July-August 2008) This focus on sexuality and pushing the boundries of what is considered acceptable exploration and promotion of sexuality is used as the strongest marketing tool for the label. (often getting them in trouble with the media!)

- uses seductive and fantasy-like photographic shoots and short films (seen on website)

- stores around the world are set up in a way that reflects a red-light district

- designing and stocking products that enhance sexual pleasure and sexuality (e.g whips; pasties; blind folds etc)

- also seen in the names of the collections: example - "Pan and the Vestry of Vrigins" or Tableaux Virants".

Like Chantal Thomass, AP also uses the website and online tools to promote and market the label. A free, even stronger online club, APClub, than that of Chantal Thomass, is used to give members exclusive access to some of the online films and the online magazine. (a far more stimulating and exciting club than that of Chantal Thomass BUT one of AP's philosophies is to enhance the availability and encourage an openness towards sexuality that Chantal Thomass does not.) Using lots of images, colour,sketches and exclusive AP music (available to purchase) while blogging latest press releases and any other AP events.

Unlike the other possible competitors, AP also uses celebrities to promote the label - such as Kate Moss, Kylie and Heidi Klum in film and photographic promotion. This is another example of linking the label to the everyday buyer. Although those used t promote the label are not "everyday" people, they are the type of women who many "everyday" women (and men) follow and look up to.

La Perla: of all of the possible competitors, La Perla, through its choice of marketing, gives off the most elegant, luxurious and sophisticated apperance, reflecting the label's high-end price points, luxury fabrications and designs. Using traditional methods of marketing in photography (seen online) and magazine spreads. All the shots reflect a glamour, sophistication and femininity that reflects the label's designs - choosing to promote only certain labels that fall under the La Perla name. (using soft lenses and air-brushed models that have a very strong but feminine presence - these images appeare somewhat timeless)

Like the other labels, there is also an online E-mag but it is fairly brief and does not have the interactrive capabilities of AP's. It is clean, crisp and timeless in its design (reflecting yet again the target market and nature of the La Perla label) but offers only brief details of recent/up-coming La Perla events ; photo-shoots and catwalk shows etc.

Pleasure State: the only australian possible competitor, Pleasure State has similar marketing techniques to La Perla, using the website and look-books to promote the label. (although less luxurious/extravangant as the La Perla site which also offers an oline store - not available to australia however) The web site has very clean, simple lines and uses lots of negative space, offer customers the opportunity to read about the label's philosophies - to create "...contemporary elegance, discreat luxury and ultimate comfort..." while finding the "...perfect equlibrium between fundamental comfort and ultimate luxe, a perfect balance between reality and desire." (http://www.pleasurestate.com/ - profile/the company/philosophy)

Unlike the other three competitor labels, Pleasure State does not offer a retail store, selling through boutiques and large department stores. This means they must fin another way to promote the label, and uses look-books as a way to remind the customer of their product after they have left the store - also gives them something to take away which consumers find appealing. The photographic work has a strong focus on the lingerie (unlike AP which incorporates an entire theme and backdrop to each shoot), with simple, strong detailing. Pleasure State, like La Perla reflects a more traditional marketing approach. unlike the other labels, Pleasure State has no online magazine or group/club to join. I think that all of these marketing techniques reflect the very "real" and "achievable" nature of the Pleasure State label. Although promoting a more luxurious feel, the label is essentially a very available and achieveable brand for many of the population - the branding therefore has to reflect this by promoting a more commercial and generally "likable" appeal to a broad range of target customers.

-Joanna