Lingerie Trends

Marks & Spencer’s Per Una label is launching a pretty new lingerie collection, reports Clare Coulson

Through all its ups and downs, Marks & Spencer can at least claim to supply a large proportion of the female population with new knickers.

At the most recent count, a quarter of British women bought their underwear at M&S, although the true figure is likely to be higher.

Lingerie has always been one of the chain’s best-selling lines, accounting for 20 per cent of its total clothing sales and helping to bolster the store as its womenswear turnover plummeted in the past few years.

Today, M&S launches Per Una Lingerie, an off-shoot of the label founded by George Davies in 2001. Its range couldn’t be more different from the store’s main collections – from the outset, girly frills and ruffles have adorned garments, and pinks have been dotted throughout.

Just like the clothes collection, Per Una Lingerie is sugary sweet. Hearts feature throughout the range, made from patterned lace on the pale pink and white Verona underwired bras and shorts or, more subtly, on the white lace Firenze set, while all the elastic trims have an embroidered heart logo.

There are hot pinks, scarlet and rose floral sets, as well as a more sedate range called Milano, which includes simple bras in soft colours, such as mocha and chocolate, with a new colour palette to be introduced every 10 weeks.

The move away from thongs is also apparent, with nearly every set featuring boy shorts or hipster shorts.

It’s a timely launch for M&S. Share prices have started to climb in the past week, which is good news for chief executive Stuart Rose, who is currently embroiled in negotiations with Davies over the renewal of his Per Una contract.

If the popularity of the clothing range is anything to go by, Per Una Lingerie is sure to be a hit, but competition has never been fiercer.

The collection will be sold at only 46 of the company’s 325 stores, so many women will not have access to the pretty Firenze shorts or practical mocha Roma bra.

Priced from £16 for bras and £8 for knickers, the range will compete with more ornate collections at M&S, such as Truly You, but is much more expensive than the basic lines.

But for just a few pounds more, you can buy underwear from Elle Macpherson’s range, which is on sale in most department stores and is not only better designed but also has the cachet of a big name.

Oasis’s Odille range, launched just over a year ago, is another success story – with a vintage feel, the romantic collections are well made and reasonably priced.

Chains such as Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Topshop have also hopped on the bandwagon. Topshop has introduced its own range, as well as selling labels such as Love Kylie at selected stores.

For women who prefer less decorative underwear, there are brilliant ranges at Gap Body, which includes practical lines, as well as more feminine, trend-led designs.

M&S must remember, too, that women now have a different approach to underwear.

When the store was at the height of its popularity, our underwear consisted of a drawerful of cotton basics with a few pretty pieces.

Now, along with endless trinkets and accessories, lingerie is a treat.

We might still buy basics, but we also purchase more frivolous and decorative underwear than before – and it is as influenced by fashion as anything else we wear.
Daily Telegraph, Sep. 9, 2005

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