Aubade is well known for its impactful campaigns, its bold and glamorous styles and its advocacy of an assertive and confident femininity. As the lingerie market is evolving at a fast pace, we caught up with Samar Vignals, on the Exposed area, where she showcases the brands’ collections for the first time. A first step towards a new generation of lingerie that is finally ready to step out of the private sphere and expose itself to the world, with as much humor and care as ever.

This is your first time at Exposed. What opportunities does it offer to a lingerie brand ?

I was interested in WSN’s project to rethink the lingerie space and mix it with other universes. We’ve had great exposure at the Salon International de la Lingerie for a long time, which is always a key event in terms of meeting our French and international clients. Moving to Exposed allows us to measure the potential attraction there could be between lingerie and ready-to-wear, and see if they are becoming as porous as people say.

What lines and pieces are you betting on ?

Lingerie is an intimate product that is slowly coming out of its cocoon. New trends have a lot of echo at Who’s Next so it’s interesting for us to test pieces that are a bit hybrid : bodysuits that can be worn over or under, short bustiers, beachwear…

We’ve completely revised our brand platform in 2022 to refocus on women and their desire. Our new mantra, “Live your desire”, is about women really feeling their sensoriality, living their femininity at their own pace and in their own way, in a society in which the place of woman has changed radically. We are here to support these changes.

How does Aubade adapt to these major transformations ?

This is a fundamental question. When we redefined our brand platform, we did a lot of studies and interviews with our customers to find out who they were, what they liked and what they expected from Aubade. This better understanding of their expectations gave us a new roadmap : we’ve kept our backbone of sexiness, strong pieces and audacity, while reasserting our values of empowerment. It fits with the brand’s image in the collective psyche.

What are your next steps ?

We wish to expand our customer base to younger women who are more in touch with social media. Those who are discovering the brand’s universe and who look for sensoriality, inclusivity and a form of liberation, outside the stereotypical projections.

We’re currently launching a collaboration with Cindy Bruna, a very vocal and dedicated person. She took women’s stretch marks as a starting point to create an embroidery that pays homage to the curves. We called it Sanctuary Waves and designed it with one of our French embroidery partners.

It’s an ideal way of keeping the savoir-faire up to date.

Yes, and that’s what they’re waiting for ! The northern France production basin is experiencing some difficulties. This kind of innovation brings new challenges that can modernize the entire network, and help to preserve it.