The ‘Queen of Lingerie’, multi award-winning luxury lingerie designer Damaris Evans, who was the first to sell knickers priced over £100, has announced her latest collaboration with high street giant Marks & Spencer.
Damaris, the founder of luxury lingerie brands Damaris and Mimi Holliday, whose luxury pieces have been worn by Kate Moss, Angelina Jolie and Kendall Jenner, has recently returned from living in the South of France and designed the latest M&S collection from her new home in Hampshire.
Her first iconic collaboration with the brand debuted in 2021, named Boutique X Damaris and was hailed in the press as the “prettiest lingerie collection ever”.
Three years on, high fashion meets high street again in her latest collaboration, also named Boutique X Damaris, comprising gorgeously pretty pieces – minus the designer price tag. Items in the collection will be released every other month, from January 2024 onwards.
First to drop is Aletta, a romantic collection, perfect for Valentine’s Day, which marries delicate Austria-designed embroidery and cross-stitch hearts in pretty lilac and soft electric spearmint, each bearing the hallmark playfulness and attention to detail which are synonymous with the Damaris name.
The second edit, Abella, drops in April, again featuring exquisite embroidery, this time in soft, ice pink, adorned with embroidered lemons and flowers, and Damaris’s trademark corset back to the knickers.
Pieces in each collection include a padded push-up balcony bra (£24), plunge bra (£24), Brazilian/high leg knicker (£12), thong (£10) and slip (£26).
Described as combining cult cool with a sense of humour, Damaris said her high fashion days are far from over. She said: “My heart is in high fashion, however, it’s been both interesting and exciting to work in the high street market and to be able to create design-leading, everyday-priced lingerie which is worthy of a high fashion price tag.
“On a high street collaboration such as this, it’s my job as a designer to translate what’s important in a design and to make it affordable. I wouldn’t compromise on design, fit or quality of fabrics, but instead I choose to use each element to best effect, making a special piece that lovers of my designs, old and new, will cherish for years to come.”
She added: “The first collaboration with M&S was planned to be a one-off and for me then to continue with high fashion lingerie. However, due its success, the decision was taken to collaborate further with additional collections – and here I am.”
M&S lingerie director Laura Charles commented: “Following the success of Boutique X Damaris at M&S, we are extremely excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with lingerie designer Damaris Evans once again. We’re committed to delivering exciting, innovative and stylish lingerie, and are working with a designer who is renowned for pushing design boundaries and bringing lingerie to the catwalk.
“Within this latest collection, Damaris delivers playful, pretty lingerie styles, synonymous with her design style!. The first edit launches just in time for Valentines Day and we know our customers will love the romance of the range – celebrating lingerie design at its best and underpinned by M&S quality and value. This collaboration further elevates what we have to offer our customer.”
Before Damaris lingerie, which has been sold in 350 exclusive stores worldwide, there was no such thing as a bow-back knicker and the world had never heard of bottom cleavage or a corset knicker!
When Selfridges stocked a luxury lingerie collection from Damaris, including the iconic star knicker, they found themselves with a waiting list for underwear for the first time in their 112 year history.
One magazine even reported at the time that Liv Tyler was allegedly fighting at the till at Samantha Rodricks’ lingerie store, eager to get her hands on Damaris’s cult designs.
Damaris added: “High fashion lingerie is in my DNA and although the Damaris brand is not currently in stores, I am constantly creating collections in my sketchbooks, ready for the next step.
“While I can say that there have been discussions with a major luxury house, I can’t at this stage confirm whether that next step will mean me joining as creative director, heading up its lingerie division or launching a collaborative collection.
“What I can say is that I am very optimistic about the future and promise that Damaris high fashion lingerie will be back. The designs are in there already, simply bursting to get out!”
About Damaris Evans:
Damaris is unarguably one of the most innovative lingerie designers to come out of this century. With a lineage that includes Sir William Rothenstein, once principal of the Royal College of Art, and Sir John Rothenstein, the Tate Gallery’s longest-standing director, it’s no surprise that Damaris was drawn to an artistic career.
When she burst onto the scene in 2001, after graduating from Central St Martins and with just a £5,000.00 grant from the Princes Trust, the press exploded with praise.
She showcased the Damaris collection at London Fashion Week in September 2001 and her designs quickly revolutionised the lingerie industry. Before Damaris, a bra was a bra, and a knicker was simply a knicker.
Her collection was showcased at London Fashion Week’s New Generation, sponsored by the British Fashion Council, in September 2003 and February 2004. It received the ‘Young Enterprise of the Year’ award for the Spring/Summer 2003 collection at the Elle Style Awards and in 2005, Damaris was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen for a Celebration of British Design.
Damaris is the creative force that revolutionised the global lingerie landscape and took us outside the long-accepted norm. She grew her businesses into a combined international creative powerhouse, with a retail value in excess of £10 million.
The Mimi Holliday brand was created in 2003 as a diffusion line to the luxury price point of Damaris, with a £1m partnership deal to kick off the first collection. The brand very quickly became a favourite brand in over 35 countries. In 2019, Damaris parted company with Mimi Holliday.
