Tattoo and Tulle
The "unsettling confusion of bra and skin"
Featured above: “Africa” model, half-cup bra in embroidered tulle, 2005, Chantelle. “India” model half-cup rigid bra with lace applied in a tattoo effect, Maison Lejaby. Shorty in embroidered tulle with lace applied in tattoo effect, Chantelle. Photographs by Gilles Berquet for Exhibition Lingerie Française XIX-XXI
Long before lacemakers mastered the truly genius art of tattoo-effect lingerie, humans were decorating their skin – we’re talking long, loooong before: think Otzi the Iceman, who presumably roamed prehistoric Europe trying to impress young cave-girls with his 61 tats some 25,000 years ago. Fast-forward through the ages and tattoos make an appearance in nearly every culture for aesthetic, medicinal, and religious reasons - and even as punishment. (Let’s face it, getting a tattoo isn’t a walk in the park.) Once the mark of bandits and drunken sailors, they’ve now become a mark of pedigree: Consider getting a high-end Thai tattoo applied by a former monk named Ajahn Boo who, according to a recent New York Times post, will ink your body in an ancient style called sak yant for a mere $848 to $1,676.
There’s got to be an easier way to replicate a tattoo - and, of course, there is. Yes, we’re referring to the tantalizing tattoo effect that we’ve come to adore in lingerie, which is actually a complex creative enterprise developed by designers and textiles wizards who’ve pushed the creative envelope in their respective fields.
In “French Lingerie: 19th – 21st Century,” French fashion curator, historian and author Catherine Ormen describes “this unsettling confusion of bra and skin” that inspired French lingerie makers to offer their clients a ‘tattooed’ version of their products. Writes Ormen: “ The decoration of a bra, a thong, a shorty or bikini panties must adapt itself to a minimal surface, all the while remaining very supple and readable. This is the challenge lingerie makers face: to offer meticulously executed work in a sometimes miniscule space. Once the problem is solved, the decorations can be varied indefinitely, playing with different color combinations, transposing the motif in lurex, or creating superimpositions.”
Playing with this tattoo effect, French lingerie brands would be required to innovate a technique that involved working with “extremely fine and stretchable flesh-colored tulle that serves as the backing for embroidery that, itself, is made of Lycra fibers to ensure elasticity and to better hug the shape of the body. These delicate operations will take long months to perfect for each model, with experts in several trades contributing to their know-how.”
The next time you’re tempted get a tattoo nestled in your cleavage like Dolly Parton (or a tattoo on your bosom like infamous Kim Kardashian was reportedly interested in doing), we suggest you simply slip into something more comfortable, more elegant, and a little bit more, well, French.
Here are just a few of our favorite tattoo-effect lingerie sensations:
Passionata's Glamourous
Maison Lejaby's Roxane
Empreinte's Vivienne
Simone Pérèle's Look
Long before lacemakers mastered the truly genius art of tattoo-effect lingerie, humans were decorating their skin – we’re talking long, loooong before: think Otzi the Iceman, who presumably roamed prehistoric Europe trying to impress young cave-girls with his 61 tats some 25,000 years ago. Fast-forward through the ages and tattoos make an appearance in nearly every culture for aesthetic, medicinal, and religious reasons - and even as punishment. (Let’s face it, getting a tattoo isn’t a walk in the park.) Once the mark of bandits and drunken sailors, they’ve now become a mark of pedigree: Consider getting a high-end Thai tattoo applied by a former monk named Ajahn Boo who, according to a recent New York Times post, will ink your body in an ancient style called sak yant for a mere $848 to $1,676.
There’s got to be an easier way to replicate a tattoo - and, of course, there is. Yes, we’re referring to the tantalizing tattoo effect that we’ve come to adore in lingerie, which is actually a complex creative enterprise developed by designers and textiles wizards who’ve pushed the creative envelope in their respective fields.
In “French Lingerie: 19th – 21st Century,” French fashion curator, historian and author Catherine Ormen describes “this unsettling confusion of bra and skin” that inspired French lingerie makers to offer their clients a ‘tattooed’ version of their products. Writes Ormen: “ The decoration of a bra, a thong, a shorty or bikini panties must adapt itself to a minimal surface, all the while remaining very supple and readable. This is the challenge lingerie makers face: to offer meticulously executed work in a sometimes miniscule space. Once the problem is solved, the decorations can be varied indefinitely, playing with different color combinations, transposing the motif in lurex, or creating superimpositions.”
Playing with this tattoo effect, French lingerie brands would be required to innovate a technique that involved working with “extremely fine and stretchable flesh-colored tulle that serves as the backing for embroidery that, itself, is made of Lycra fibers to ensure elasticity and to better hug the shape of the body. These delicate operations will take long months to perfect for each model, with experts in several trades contributing to their know-how.”
The next time you’re tempted get a tattoo nestled in your cleavage like Dolly Parton (or a tattoo on your bosom like infamous Kim Kardashian was reportedly interested in doing), we suggest you simply slip into something more comfortable, more elegant, and a little bit more, well, French.
Here are just a few of our favorite tattoo-effect lingerie sensations:
Passionata's Glamourous
Maison Lejaby's Roxane
Empreinte's Vivienne
Simone Pérèle's Look
March 25, 2016
