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Portfolio Creative Professional Practice Jane Dungate DUN14416680 BA(Hons) Fashion Contour

“Luxurious, enticing and empowering, Coco de Mer is where you explore the exhilarating limits of your erotic imagination.� (http://www.coco-de-mer.com/help/philosophy/)

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Photographs of interior of Coco de Mer Boutique 23 Monmouth Street, London, WC2H, 9DD Images from: http://www.coco-de-mer.com/help/ press/ (accessed: 18/08/15)

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Erotic

Pleasure

Luxurious

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Seduction

Bondage

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Coco de Mer specialises in “Exquisite lingerie. Beautiful gifts. Luxurious Pleasure.” and “...the art of seduction.” (http://www.coco-de-mer.com/).

Coco de Mer’s design ethos is to create the finest, most luxurious, beautiful erotica that makes the wearer feel special, or says “you’re special to me” when given as a gift. A few, key, buzz words that Coco de Mer use to describe their lingerie are: luxurious; enticing; and empowering.

The brand also has an education arm of the business with salons that aim to teach people new sexual techniques. They claim “there is always something new to discover and explore” and the staff in the stores are there to help the customer understand and learn about different fantasies.

Coco de Mer’s boutique and website sells their own brand of lingerie, as well as other named brands, such as Fleur du Mal, Bordelle and Stella McCartney. The pieces are luxurious and elegant with an erotic, playful twist. Some pieces incorporate bondage and latex into them.

Coco de Mer’s design ethos is to create t They also sell sex toys, sex accessories and other erotica gifts from their own brand and other brands, such as We-Vibe and Lelo.

This marketing mix shows the key concepts for: product, price, promotion and place (where they sell their products).

COMPETITORS his marketing matrix shows Coco de Mer in comparison with other lingerie brands in terms of price and style.

Coco de Mer’s main competitors have been identified as: Agent Provocateur; Kiki de Montparnasse; Myla; and La Perla, by the brand itself.

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THE CONSUMER Coco de Mer describe their consumer as “people who want the finest� (Litwack, 2015). They sell their lingerie to both women and men, split as 50% women and 50% men, and this is mostly as gifts.

In theory, their consumer is 18-80, but in reality it is closer to 30-40 due to the high prices.

They have a very loyal customer base; 50% of their customers are loyal, returning customers, whilst the other 50% are new customers.

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EXISTING NIGHTWEAR PRODUCTS BY COCO DE MER Coco de Mer uses a lot of deep ‘V’ neck styles with a lot of lace, strapping and cut outs. Their best selling bra is the Sylph Lace Half Cup Bra. They have a range called Sylph which includes a babydoll which features in the nightwear section on the Coco de Mer website.

When sorting the nightwear section by ‘Popular’ first, the Aphrodite, Allegra and Persephone playsuits feature first. Aphrodite and Allegra feature the deep ‘V’ neckline and lace. The Persephone playsuit is made from black, velvet strapping.

Coco de Mer’s own brand focusses more on the erotic side, with hidden detailing and bondage elements. The designs need to exciting and fun, highlighting and showing off different parts of the female body.

Fig 24. Allegra Bodysuit - £245

Fig 25. Allegra Playsuit - £165

Fig 26. Persephone Playsuit - £145

Fig 27. Aphrodite Bodysuit - £175

Fig 28. Aveta Bow Camisole - £200

Fig 30. Godiva Slip - £360

Fig 32. Aurora Kimono - £350

Fig 29. Sylph Babydoll - £400

Fig 31. Godiva Robe - £495

Fig 33. Seraphine Slip - £230

Fig 34. Erotic Toile Kimono - £850

STOCKED BRANDS FOR NIGHTWEAR

Belle Et BonBon

Fig 36. Bisoux Babydoll - £120

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Fleur du Mal

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Fig 38. Lace Bondage Suit - £180

Fig 39. Lace Bondage Tulle Babydoll - £220

Lascivious

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Fig 41. Midori Bodysuit - £179

Loveday London

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Fig 43. Amoria Contour Babydoll - £290

Mimi Holliday

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Fig 45. Bisou Bisou Mercury Slip - £126

Fig 46. Bisou Bisou Mercury Body - £84

Fig 48. Coco Pyjamas - £330

Fig 49. Bella Camisole and French Knicker Set - £185

Fig 51. Clara Whispering Chemise - £180

Fig 52. Clara Whispering Short Silk Robe - £225

Olivia Von Halle

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Stella McCartney

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TRENDS - WGSN The key trends for lingerie and loungewear for A/W 16 on WGSN are: Artisan, Elemental, Offbeat and Remaster.

Artisan involves a lot of lace, lace strapping and flowing camis and chemises. The key colours are: neutrals, blacks and greys, with navy and deep red.

Elemental involves a lot of unstructured, soft, cotton loungewear and lingerie. The key colours are neutrals and pastels.

Offbeat involves a lot of structure, prints and embellishments. The key colours are bright and neon.

Remaster involves a lot of luxury and glamour. The key colours are rich tones.

The key items WGSN have identified are shown below.

COLOUR AND FABRIC BOARD Black is the colour they use for their continuity collections, as this is a best seller. Brighter, “fashion” colours don’t tend to sell as well. Fabrics that are mainly used are: silks, lace, leather, velvet and latex. Some garments also have embellishments and added jewellery.

The colours I will be using will be dark and demure blues, greens, reds, purples and black and grey.

These colours should fit in well with the stock Coco de Mer currently carries and are suitable for Autumn/Winter collections. Each collection will be designed in shades of one colour.

The fabrics I will be using will be silk chiffons, velvets, silk satins, leatherette and lace. Some of the designs will have jewellery adorning the garment to make them more elegant and some designs will have studs for a more “dominatrix” feel.

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CONCEPT Coco de Mer has a very clear direction with their design ethos which works together very well with the brand ethos. Coco de Mer also has a very loyal following, with a large percentage of returning customers, so the designs should not be too far removed from products already on sale, but the designs should still be new and exciting.

A lot of Coco de Mer’s ranges are named after influential women, a lot of them British women, but they also have a few named after Greek goddesses, such as Aphrodite and Persephone.

I have decided to take inspiration from the Greek goddesses: Hestia, Athena, Hera, Demeter and Artemis. These goddesses were very influential in ancient Greece, they were revered for being beautiful and strong. The Ancient Greeks were also known to be very liberal when it came to their sexual desires, which I think fits in very well with the Coco de Mer consumer.

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INITIAL DESIGNS

HESTIA Goddess of the Hearth, Home, Architecture, Domesticity, Family, and the State.

I chose black for this range as this is Coco de Mer’s continuity colour, as she is the goddess of the hearth, red could also be used as a second colourway. The strapping is to represent the structure of Greek architecture and the support from family and the State.

Long Gown

Long Robe

Leatherette strapping for body cage design and skirt binding.

Leatherette strapping for back cage design and binding on robe.

Silk chiffon for skirt.

Silk chiffon robe.

Clasp fastening in the middle.

Cami and Shorts Leatherette strapping over bust and binding on cami and shorts.

Silk chiffon cami and shorts. ‘V’ opening on back of shorts.

Babydoll and Thong Leatherette strapping over bust and binding on babydoll.

Silk chiffon babydoll.

Leatherette ouvert thong.

Teddy Leatherette strapping teddy with ouvert thong.

Bra and Thong Leatherette strapping bra and ouvert thong.

ATHENA Goddess of Wisdom and Crafts.

Symbols for Athena include armour and snakes; the studding is to represent the strength and protection armour provides, and the gold chains are to mimic the snakes entwining themselves round the body. Athena is often depicted wearing blue, so I chose this colour for the range.

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Long Gown

Long Robe

Silk satin strapping with gold studs.

Silk satin robe with cut out back and shoulders.

Silk satin skirt and over bust.

Silk satin binding with gold studs.

Gold detachable chains.

Gold detachable chains.

Clasp fastening in middle.

Cami and Shorts Silk Georgette cami with silk satin over bust and cut out back.

Silk satin briefs with silk georgette short and silk satin binding.

Silk satin binding with gold studs.

Gold detachable chains.

Babydoll and Thong Silk satin strapping with gold studs.

Silk georgette babydoll with silk satin binding.

Gold detachable chains.

Teddy Silk satin strapping with gold studs.

Gold detachable chains.

Bodysuit Silk satin strapping with gold studs.

Silk satin body with silk georgette trim over hips.

Gold detachable chains.

HERA Queen of the Gods - Goddess of Marriage, Women, Childbirth and Family.

I chose the colour green, as a peacock feather is a symbol often used for Hera, and green is a major colour in the feather. The gold chains represent the links you create through marriage and childbirth.

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Long Gown

Long Robe

Lace darted cups with lace body with front cut out.

Lace robe with cut outs and silk satin trims on shoulders and hips.

SIlk satin skirt with lace trims.

Detachable gold chains.

Detachable gold chains.

Clasp fastening in the middle.

Cami and Shorts Silk satin cami with cut out back and lace trims.

Silk satin shorts with side splits and lace trims.

Detachable gold chains.

Babydoll and Thong Lace darted cups and lace babydoll.

Lace thong.

Detachable gold chains.

Teddy Lace teddy with deep V at the front and cut out at the back and silk satin trims on the hips.

Detachable gold chains.

Bodysuit Lace darted cups and lace body suit with cut out front and silk satin trims on the hips.

Detachable gold chains.

ARTEMIS Goddess of the Hunt, Forest and Hills, the Moon and Archery.

The halter neck style is meant to represent the archer’s bow and arrow. The colour purple represents the night sky at dusk.

Long Gown

Long Robe

Silk chiffon halter neck.

Stretch tulle robe with silk satin trims.

SIlk satin skirt with thigh split.

Silk satin tie in the middle.

Cami and Shorts Silk chiffon halter neck with stretch tulle cami with silk satin binding.

Silk chiffon shorts with silk satin binding.

Babydoll and Thong Silk chiffon halter neck with stretch tulle babydoll with silk satin binding.

Silk chiffon thong with stretch tulle round the hips and silk satin binding.

Teddy Silk chiffon halter neck and silk satin brief with stretch tulle and back opening.

Short Gown Silk chiffon halter neck and stretch tulle skirt with silk satin trims.

Silk chiffon thong with stretch tulle round the hips and silk satin binding.

DEMETER Goddess of Agriculture, Fertility, and the Harvest.

The colour red represents fertility and autumnal colours of the harvest. The lace represents the plants for agriculture.

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Long Gown

Long Robe

Silk georgette over bust and silk satin skirt with lace trims.

Silk georgette upper with cut out back and silk satin skirt with lace trims.

Clasp fastening in the middle

Cami and Shorts Silk satin camisole with lace trims and cut out back.

Silk satin shorts wth lace trims.

Babydoll and Thong Silk satin over bust and silk georgette babydoll with lace trims.

Silk satin thong with lace sides.

Teddy Silk georgette upper and silk satin brief with cut out back and lace trims.

Bodysuit

Silk satin overbust and silk georgette body with cut out front and silk satin thong with lace trims.

RANGE PLAN FOR HESTIA

RANGE PLAN FOR ATHENA

RANGE PLAN FOR HERA