“Lingerie is The Poetry in A Woman’s Wardrobe”. I first coined this phrase in the mid 1980’s while presenting my case for a budget increase for the Macy’s Corporate Intimate Apparel division. I needed to convince a boardroom of middle age men to fund my belief that exclusively developed lingerie was worth the investment. I decided on metaphor: flowers, candy, romantic gestures that could elevate a woman’s sense of self-worth. I wanted to demonstrate that lingerie is a gift from or to oneself. At the time, a little known company called Victoria’s Secret was proving my point with their in store intensification of the basic silk business. I decided to push my plan with an exquisite kimono purchased at Bergdorf Goodman by a designer named Samantha Chang. Her prints were poetic gems, in a market flooded with the mundane. But, they were not easy on the pocketbook.
Fast forward to 2016 and Samantha Chang has built a business that never compromises her signature, but is perfectly attainable for a woman who recognizes the value of investment in herself. Her core lingerie collection is a cadre of underpinnings and lounge pieces developed from unique fabrics and precious laces that are merchandised with stunning acumen. For me, the anchor still resides in her gorgeous prints, magnified beautifully on the Night Bloom Water Lily 16mm silk kimono shown here. Digitally executed with precision handwork, and engineered in one size fitting most, Samantha has brought her design expertise into the 21st century with economic vision. Now aspirational lingerie is in reach.
as night begins in the heart of the lilies and smokes up
their fluted throats until it fills the room
and my lights have to be not switched on.
And in close darkness the aroma grows so sweet,
so strong, that it could slice me open.
It does. ~Noah Warren
