Of all the bras in the lingerie sphere – balconette, push-up, wired, non-wired – there is one particular bra that has quietly come up trumps: Agent Provocateur’s Lorna. The bra that, nearly eight years ago, Beyoncé wore to announce she was expecting her twins, captured in Awol Erizku’s ethereal photograph. The bra that many women – myself included – count as an everyday wardrobe hero. As longstanding creative director Sarah Shotton tells me, Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton are also fans. And proof that it’s resonating with a new generation? She’s spotted young women wearing Lornas with miniskirts at Glastonbury.
Born from an archival design that arrived when Joseph Corré and Serena Rees launched the brand in 1994 – which Sarah, as a shop assistant in her twenties, says she shifted by the masses – the Lorna as its known today debuted for spring/summer 2011, rendered in black and powder pink. Like its predecessor, it was met with acclaim, beloved for its simple, hard-working blueprint: Lorna is a plunge cup bra with a sheer net tulle base, Austrian embroidery, French seam detailing and signature scalloped edges.
“It looks like an X-ray” Sarah continues of its barely-there, but at the same time noticeable, presence. Bar the occasional tweaks over the years, like the additions of basques and quarter cups, the silhouette has remained the same for over a decade. “It’s stood the test of time where other ranges haven’t,” Sarah remarks. One thing that has, however, changed about the Lorna – and the AP range as a whole – is the customer split. Men reportedly used to account for a large portion of purchases, but it’s now flipped. “Women buy the Lorna because it makes them feel great,” says Sarah, who analyses a weekly list of famous shoppers buying AP worldwide.
