It’s been 20 years that American brand Kiki de Montparnasse thrives on the local market with delicate, sexy pieces that take inspiration in the provocative aesthetic of a French cabaret icon. As the brand makes its first visit to the Salon International de la Lingerie, we met with its International Sales representative with Chantelle Lecoq, to learn more about its expansion into the international market.

Tell us about the history of the brand.

It was founded in 2005 and was inspired by Kiki de Montparnasse, a French cabaret artist who was the first of her time to be really sexually expressive. We do empowering, luxury lingerie with fabrics sourced in France and Italy, and mostly produce in the US. We’re very well established there and we are currently re-expanding international sales. We also have an atelier in our New York office, for a range of more delicate laces and beadings, and a pleasure items offer – a unique kind of added-value that really differentiates us from our competitors.

Was this a choice from the beginning, or did you sense a switch in the market that allowed you to explore such an offer ?

We actually started 10 years ago, so we were pioneers in blending lingerie with pleasure items. We have been expanding our range over the years, as well as bath and a bit of ready to wear. We feel that these categories are now blending more than they used to, from lingerie all the way to wellness by means of pleasure and ready to wear. It’s a very interesting new way of exploring these different markets.

Has it been a challenge, regarding the different stores that Kiki de Montparnasse is sold at ?

Our brand strategy being to mix all these universes and having that many different categories, it allow us to adapt to our different partners. They can create their own world of Kiki without necessarily having to touch on everything. More and more stores also specialize in pleasure through a wellness and beauty scope, especially in London. It’s quite unexpected – we thought that such a market would be more opened in France but it’s actually the opposite. Attending the tradeshow allows for interesting discoveries !

This is your first time at the Salon International de la Lingerie – why was it interesting for you to join in this year ?

Well, having been predominantly in the US we never felt the need to attend. But our new president Alexa Cahill is really working on expanding the brand’s outreach internationally, so the Salon International de la Lingerie felt like a great opportunity to position ourselves in specialty stores in the European market. We’ve had some great reactions so far, we’ve barely sat down since we’ve arrive !

Are there some new products that you’re excited to show ?

We’ve actually just launched a new collection called Dahlia. It’s more of an entry level price point, with six different styles in blush, black and ivory. The prices range between 95 and 125 dollars. We’ve actually had some nice reactions from people who might have thought our products were a bit pricey for their selection. We’re also focusing on expanding the swimwear, which gives us the opportunity to focus on stores that specialize in this category. We’re looking forward to seeing how it turns out !