News

Agent Provocateur

1026 Alberni St., 604-258-7943

agentprovocateur.com

The luxe shopping junction at Alberni and Burrard Streets just might be complete now, thanks to a woman who hails from the mining, oil and gas industry. Jean Florendo, tiny, tidy, quietly business-like and a self-proclaimed fan of tasselled, sequined pasties, is behind Canada's first incarnation of Britain's sublime lingerie stop, Agent Provocateur.

With its plush fuchsia and crimson carpet, mirrored showcases stamped with damask print and vintage four-poster bed (with a scantily clad mannequin lounging seductively across), the shop feels more boudoir than boutique. Human-size birdcages flank the staircase to the second level where inky black Plexiglas branches stretch out from the walls beckoning, "Come hither," drawing you into the enchanted forest that is the Agent Provocateur brand. The space is rich and indulgent, a refreshing change from the stark aesthetic that has imbued so many boutiques this decade.

"I walked into Agent Provocateur on Pont Street in Knightsbridge and immediately got that feeling, so sexy and feminine. It just felt different," Florendo says of her first visit to an AP in England. "I thought, 'I deserve to have this experience all the time.' "

Agent Provocateur has aroused acclaim worldwide for its sexy underthings that fly in the face of prudery and flirt shamelessly with the art of seduction from a tasteful, one might even say classy, standpoint. (You can't get crotchless panties here, for example, but you can get a pair of Ouvert, their identical, more polite twin.) Its intensely creative, racy marketing campaigns have featured Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss, Maggie Gyllenhaal and most recently Catherine Bailey, in roles ranging from vampish bucking bronco rider to a coquettish Lady of the Manor. If brevity is the soul of lingerie, fantasy is the heart of Agent Provocateur.

Serena Rees, co-founder of the 13-year-old brand, saw a gap in the market and pounced. "We wanted to break away from the idea that anything to do with sex was smutty or embarrassing. Our aim was to create high-end, luxury designer lingerie that would enchant and arouse both wearers and their partners."

Mission accomplished. The Gangster, which has been flying off the shelves in Vancouver, will entice even the most puritan with its corseted demi-bra ($155) and suspender brief bottoms cut straight across with pleat detail ($120). The lace Love collection, lovely in ivory for a bride, comes in demi-bra ($145) and strapless ($145). Black sequin tasselled pasties ($65) charm when paired with the Marilyn bra ($135), which has an underwire and bow that falls between the breasts, but no cup (meow). Many bras go to size E and F; there are even sexy maternity pieces. The brand's accessories include crystal whips, leather gloves and pom-pom-embellished stiletto mules.

Vancouver has wanted for another high-end lingerie stop and it seems good things comes to those who wait. It took three years for Florendo to find the perfect space before signing on the line for her Agent Provocateur franchise on Alberni Street. "Everyone said if I wanted to do this, I must open in Toronto first, but this is my home. We did the research. Brand awareness was low, but we have a robust economy here. People will find us."

She has plans to roll out two more stores (in Toronto and Montreal) in 2008, but for now it's all about Vancouver.

"I'm in fabulous underwear every day of my life," Florendo says. "No one else may see it, but I feel like a woman."