Origins of Intimacy
Once upon a time, lingerie functioned as a fundamental undergarment for women. Conceived from the French term “linge”, meaning linen, lingerie predates the medieval and Renaissance periods; its use can be traced back to ancient civilizations, including Greece, Rome, Minoan Crete and Egypt around 3000 BC.
Before the term “lingerie” emerged, women wore bands of cloth made from linen and leather to cover and support the body. These bands, rooted in practicality rather than style, shape the body, providing support and at times carrying symbolic associations with divinity, fertility and ritual.
During the Renaissance through the 19th century, undergarments retained a similar function; however, the corset emerged as an additional form of body shaping, worn tightly beneath outer dresses. The size of a woman’s waist became a reflection of various social and aesthetic ideals, from fashionable silhouettes, perceived fertility, allure and nobility. As a result, lingerie quickly evolved further away from its earlier practical purpose of hygiene and support.
Text By Kitana M. Crowellee
The Erotic Shift
Following the Victorian era in the late 1800s, the corset became the most popular lingerie piece, paradoxically signaling both the height and unraveling of feminine modesty. Once a private undergarment, it gradually entered the public imagination as an object of erotic intrigue.
Lingerie designs took a more decorative and expressive form, one hinting at seduction, pleasure and social pleasure, while simultaneously reinforcing new categories through which women were judged. The corset, in particular, became associated with courtesans and intimate performances, blurring the line between refinement and provocation.
From Glamour to Global Spectacle
The early 20th century marked a decisive shift. Designer Lady Duff-Gordon was a pioneering and innovative figure who boldly introduced lingerie into the public eye. By expanding the elements of what was once plain underwear, Lucile transformed lingerie expressions into luxurious, sheer, silk, lace, rosebuds, velvet bows combined with a spectrum of colors. Her vision to position sensuality as a style statement instead of something hidden, was a pivotal point in women’s fashion, marking a requisite sense of liberty and unorthodox beauty through seductive dress.
By the 1950s, glamour prevailed. Hollywood elevated eroticism into spectacle, with star Marilyn Monroe rising as the ultimate sex symbol of the century. Eroticism grew more visible in popular culture; torpedo bras were the emblem of desirability, girdies and garters were glamorized through advertising and cinema. A woman’s curves were no longer concealed, instead, were celebrated as central to Western beauty standards.
In the decades that followed, French designers like Chantal Thomass made lingerie a woman’s most powerful accessory, particularly within the walls of French, Parisian culture. Simultaneously, Jean Paul Gaultier’s cone corset for Madonna and the spectacle of Victoria’s Secret runway shows blurred the line between underwear and outerwear on the global stage. Lingerie was suddenly all about making the feminine stronger, bolder and independent. A new global fashion language.
Archival Desire
With an escalating demand in authentic vintage lingerie, also reflective of fashion’s growing commitment to recyclingling and archival revival, modern and upcoming brands are adapting their collections to re-interpret historic intimates and romanticism. Drawing inspiration from historical period aesthetics like the Neo-Romantic boudoir, Victorian and Edwardian revival, Belle Époque elegance and even Baroque and Rococo movements, this renewed fascination with intimate domesticity has become widely accessible to all who wish to embody it.
Brands such as Agent Provocateur, Bordelle, Fifi Chachnil, La Perla and Dita Von Teese Lingerie sustain and re-interpret old-world glamour through corsetry, lacework and silk compositions.
The Public Crossover
Interestingly, modern undergarments have largely replaced the strictly practical and hygienic role that lingerie once fulfilled, while vintage-inspired pieces are being reimagined as performative outerwear. With that, vintage pieces such as slip dresses, lace camisoles, authentic Victorian corsets, bralettes and more dominantly styled and paired with blazers, denim and leather trench coats, creating an emphasised duality between comfort and sensuality.
What was once so private and discreet is now framed as public fashion. Intimate wear has entered the mainstream, shedding rigid definitions of modesty and exclusivity. The function of form, structure and hygiene that these pieces of cloth were so limited to now serve a grander purpose, surpassing boundaries that historically confined them to a single gender, and increasingly embracing fluidity in who they are designed for and worn by.
As trends developed, style categories generated the rock chic, indie sleaze, model off-duty, sexy minimalism and street chic. Once again, a broader cultural shift is underway, symbolizing how femininity is no longer prescribed, but self-defined.
The Sovereign Body
As authentic vintage lingerie or re-inspired designs walk the public spaces, it becomes clear that definitions of intimacy in culture have expanded beyond its once confined boundaries. Wearing intimacy openly on skin for yourself and others to see is not only making the evident statement of the change in women’s rights, but is also significantly reclaiming the popularity in self-love, confidence and healthy feminine embodiment.
Neither hidden nor objectified, but self-defined.
