Guia La Bruna
Guia La Bruna is a young designer that we have featured on Knickers several times. She’s gaining traction in Europe with strong showings and a developing channel. Her designs are a divine balance of classic lines and modern fabrics. Knickers conducted this interview in the first weeks of January 2006.
There is some confusion as to whether you are Italian or French. La Redoute says you are Italian but your website seems very French. Do you want to clear up the confusion?
I am definitively Italian and my company is based in Turin, (my grandfather started it in 1935) but I’ve lived between France an Italy since I was eighteen. I developed my creation when I moved to Paris and during my studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. This can be the reason why my website seems very french. Another reason is that I work with French photographers and French graphic designers.
How did you find yourself designing lingerie?
The idea of creating my own line took place in Paris while finishing my studies as I was in contact with young designers and photographers from the same school. My grandfather had always produced lingerie on a large-scale, so as much as I wanted to work in lingerie, I also wanted to do something different. I already had a factory behind me, it was just waiting for me to give it a new breath. This factory is the place where I’ve grown up, running from one laboratory to another, along corridors where tons of fabrics were stocked. It was natural for me to start my story there. My own brand had to be very exclusive and luxurious. Having kept all the information on old styles, I reworked old patterns and even used vintage laces and trims from its storerooms. I wanted to create the set that I would love to find in my grandmother’s drawer, with a retro look but modern at the same time.
How does your collection get made? Do you design the pieces and then hand them off to trusted manufacturers?
We do everything in the familly factory, from the samples to production.
There seems to be a rekindled interest in lingerie. Do you think this is true? Why do you think that is?
It is completely true. As you can see, there are new brands coming out on the market every day. Also, many ready-to-wear designers are starting to create their own lingerie . It is probably because fashion is more than only one thing. It’s going more and more in that direction, and it gives a new image to lingerie. Today it can be assimilated to a ready to wear accessory. Instead of hiding it underneath the clothes, it becomes an important part of women’s look, as a nice pair of shoes or jewelery could be.
What has been your greatest success so far? How about your greatest hurdle?
For sure one of my biggest success was to feature in Sex & the city, on Charlotte.
The greatest hurdle was to manage to raise enough money to do the things I like. Everything has a cost when you create a collection. Starting from fabrics to the pictures of the collection, to the packaging and everything concerning the brand image and communication.
Do you design for a demographic? How do you reach that client base?
Yes of course. Guia’s lingerie, is for women in between 20 and 45, who want to feel unique. Each style is different and corresponds to a different woman. When she wears it, it becomes the expression of her deep femininity. I want to give women the luxury even in privacy. I want them to feel it and to feel desired.
How many collections are you designing per year?
Two, Spring/sumer and Autumn/Winter.
Would you consider doing a store label or co-branded collection?
I’d love to have a store label, but it is a little early at the moment. Another solution would be to do a co-branded collection. It is an interesting project but it really depends on the other partner. I have already designed a collection for La Redoute and for Monoprix, and it was a great experience.
What evolutions of the brand do you see in the next five years for Guia La Bruna? Do you want to continue designing lingerie or will it expand to other goods?
I hope I will have a larger distribution in the next five years. I would love to open a flagship store, maybe in Paris. I’m also thinking of designing a second line, with lower prices, but still with an exclusive look.
Do you have a favorite fabric?
Fabrics of high-quality are always at the base of my creations. If I had to choose one, I’d say my favourite is the silk muslin. It has such a delicate and fluid aspect and there are so many different types of muslin : embroided, printed , with applications. I love the way it falls on the body, the soft movement it gives to all the garments.
What inspires you?
The fabrics I choose. Everything starts from there. From a sensation, a colour or a print. Each season there is a different mood driving me through the collection. This winter collection brings us into the private world of the fifties divas, eternal muses, and perfect incarnation of absolute femininity. The background of the stage and the most luxurious hotel rooms, are the perfect sceneries where these divine creatures evolve, dressed up in silk sets, small silk-chiffon tops and colorful silk dresses with a retro allure. Days and nights, elegance shows up trough precious fabrics, enriched by details as strasses, vintage laces and velvet ribbons.
Many designers cater to average cup sizes. By all accounts average is moving up very quickly from C to D and larger. Do you plan on offering larger sizes in your collections?
Unfortunately I have just few styles that can go up to D cups. A lot of the fabrics are quite difficult to work on a very constructed pattern. The silk muslins are easier to use for tops and knickers tan for cups. That is why I don’t really plan to offer larger sizing. It would also mean for me using more appropriate fabrics.
What has the use of the Internet done for your business? Will you be offering retail on your own site anytime soon?
Well it has for sure improved the visibility of my brand. I’d like to offer retail on my website, but it is too early at the moment. We are still a small team so we wouldn’t be able to offer this service yet.
How do you work with your sales channel? For people in the US or UK, we have limited locations to find your designs. Will you have new opportunities for US sales in 2006?
I do two big trade shows per year, both in France : in Paris and in Lyon. Until now I’ve been taking care of the rest of the distribution myself. That’s the reason why it was not easy to find my brand. I recently found agents both for US and in the UK, so now it should be easier to find new stockists.
How did Cazar find you?
They came to the Paris show in January.
Who are your competitors? What makes Guia La Bruna different?
There are few designers with beautiful collections that I know and we usually retail in the same stores. But we all know that each of our lines are unique. So there isn’t really a competition. My collection is different because the fabrics I use are exclusive and very difficult to find. I also pay a lot of attention and put a lot of efforts in the cuts and the quality, I want it to be very high.
Find Guia La Bruna here
