Recently lingerie blogosphere has been raving about a new DD+ brand on the market: All Undone Lingerie. After crying over the lack of sexiness in DD+ world it felt like my prayers were answered in a very effective pleasant way. This brand is something completely new; graphic designs with a sexy edge and amazing luxury feel to it. Now that the brand has launched their e-commerce site and first line with a size range of 28-34 DD-GG I would like to introduce the brand properly to you with an interview with the wonder woman behind the brand and its designs, Eva Philipps. Here we go…

First I would like to know a little bit about you as a designer; what is your fashion/lingerie background and how has it affected you as a lingerie designer?

-I’d been interested in design since I was a child, I completely loved Karl Lagerfeld (not the normal 10 year old obsession) and growing up was lucky enough to access a collection of amazing clothes thanks to my huge family of women never throwing any of their clothes away, everything from 1920’s flapper dresses, 1960’s couture and 1980’s bomber jackets. Having worked at creative agencies in the Advertising industry for a number of years I decided to follow my dream of creating a fashion-led lingerie label for the smaller band, larger cup sizes. This meant attending courses at the University of the Arts, London but really I concentrated on getting hands on experience as didn’t want to get bogged down by too much theory. I work well on instinct and the hands on experience was invaluable, having fitted many differently shaped women into very different lingerie, you learn to see what works practically and common likes and dislikes. I also work with a duo of technical experts who’ve been in the industry for over 50 years between them and so have learnt a huge amount from them too.

Why did you decide to create your own lingerie brand?

-It was something I’d dreamed of doing for years. I’d been frustrated at the offering of fashionable underwear in the UK since the late ’90’s and particularly for the DD+ sizes. I’d always been interested in fashion and design, and this idea had been bubbling for over a decade.

Where did you draw inspiration to your first collection?

-I was inspired by lots of things which all melted together, I wanted a strong graphic look and knew that a clean, not overly fussy aesthetic would be at the heart of the brand. Colours wise I was heavily inspired by fabrics of vintage gowns I’d inherited from my grandmothers, the silks were so heavy and in colours with so much depth. The clean lines of the collections draw inspiration from the sports luxe styles on the runway and even influenced by smooth modern architectural lines in buildings like Getty Centre and Guggenheim.

How has your unique aesthetics been received in the lingerie industry?

–We’ve had such a terrific response. We wanted to offer something very different to what’s out there and it’s fantastic to be recognised for that. We’re already stocked in the UK, and Australia and will be in the USA for the next season too!

Your first collection consists of three different lines. Have you thought of making some/one of them a continuity line or do you plan to create a whole new collection for each season?

-Yes, we have kept The Mai (ivory and liqueur) for SS14 and we hope to continue with The DiDi for AW14. They’ve been so popular that we want to keep them for the future!

What are the key ingredients of All Undone lingerie?

-We believe in the beauty of simplicity. If the foundations are right then everything else stays strong: our lines are smooth, our fabrics are beautiful and the craftsmanship is quality. All with a large sprinkling of sass!

What part do the materials play in the design process?

-The materials play a large part, particularly as these bras must fit and feel beautiful as well as looking beautiful. The sheer mesh and matt materials were key to the base of the collections, and I couldn’t resist the luxury of silk.

Was it an obvious choice to create a lingerie brand for women with smaller backs and big breasts? Why / why not?

-Yes totally. Over the years the offering for sleek yet supportive lingerie in the smaller back, larger cup sizes has been limited. I didn’t think women should have to start throwing their style credentials out of the window when it came to their underwear.

What have been the most fun and most challenging parts of starting your business and creating designs for the luxury full-bust market?

-Gosh well there are lots of highs and obviously some frustrations. I guess the highs are having the vision and seeing it come together, this applies to the designs of the garments to the creation of the brand. It can be frustrating for a small designer as minimum quantity orders on things like materials can be prohibitive, and for the smaller band/larger cup some materials that are fine for smaller sizes just don’t work above a D cup. However the highs are great and now that we’ve launched, it’s fantastic to hear great comments back from customers who love the garments as much as we do.

What does the future hold for All Undone lingerie?

-It’s a very exciting time, we want to grow our offering to provide more shapes for more sizes, and one day perhaps even swimwear..!

I would like to say many thanks to lovely Eva for doing this and can’t wait to try her designs on one day! My favourite would definitely be The Mai from AW13 collection but what makes a true winner is the yellow/ivory set from SS13. All Undone’s price range might be in the luxury category just like the designs and materials but I have no doubt that they will live up to the expectations of lingerie lovers. Have a great Sunday y’all, hope you enjoyed the post! 😉