Sofia Luzon is a young brand, only launching their first collection last fall, but I was quickly drawn to them in a way I'm not with very new designers. I find that brands need a few seasons to find their footing, but the Barcelona-based Sofia Luzon is an exception. Their first launch, their FW18 collection titled Arkhé, was a small range, but very strong. My initial thought was Sofia Luzon's work reminded me of Karolina Laskowska's collections. The designs, gorgeous laces, and beautiful lookbook of the Arkhé collection made me curious about the brand and excited to see what else they had to offer.
Their second collection, SS18's Ostara, is equally beautiful, but light and airy as opposed to dark and moody. Luzon has introduced new shapes and styles in this line, in addition to the lovely styles from the Arkhé collection in gorgeous white chantilly laces and silks. I have a set from this collection that I will be reviewing soon!
I'm very excited to share my interview with the very talented Sofia Luzon, the brand's namesake, about her brand and her inspiration. I hope you enjoy it!
BB: When did your interest in lingerie begin, and how did you decide to make a career of it?
SL: I’ve been interested in fashion since I was a child, but honestly I never thought of making a career out of it. That started to change about four years ago, when I moved to Barcelona to study my Master’s degree. I was feeling pretty lonely and decided to take sewing lessons as a way to meet new people. I fell down the rabbit hole of sewing blogs, and somehow one of them led to The Lingerie Addict, so I discovered a whole new world. The lingerie I was used to was pretty basic and for the most part boring, but TLA opened up so many possibilities. I quickly connected my two passions at the time, sewing and lingerie! So, I decided to study sewing and pattern-making at a professional level. Of course, it was a big shock for my family, as because they’ve always pictured me in a very different environment. Both of my parents are teachers, and they still find hard to accept that their daughter makes bras for a living!
BB: The bio on your website states that you studied art history before opening a lingerie brand. How does your fine art background lend itself to lingerie?
SL: The most obvious way in which my background influences my work is that when I’m looking for inspiration I always turn to art first. For example, the overall mood of my Arkhé collection is inspired by artists like John W. Waterhouse or Aubrey Beardsley. It may not seem evident looking at the final designs, but having these works of art as a starting point helps me to develop my ideas. In addition, another art history-related element that I use in my collections is mythology. I’m fascinated by ancient myths and I like to give each of my collections a background story too. Studying art also has made me very careful and meticulous, so I like to make sure that every detail of my pieces is right.
BB: What kind of background do you have in lingerie design, pattern-making, and sewing?
SL: I completed a two-year program in fashion and pattern-making, and several extra courses focussed on lingerie (both sewing and pattern-making). As there aren’t many good places to learn this particular skill in Barcelona, I took online courses too and I’m always trying to learn as much as I can on my own. I love reading pattern-making books and I’ve probably read every lingerie-related blog post on the internet! I also learned a lot during my internship with a local designer, because almost every day we worked on something new: lingerie, nightwear, bridal gowns, casual clothing and one day I even made a skydiver suit!
BB: You live and operate out of Barcelona, how would you describe the lingerie scene and what's popular in Spain?
SL: Honestly, the lingerie scene in Spain is quite boring and limited. The main Spanish brands are Oysho and Women’s Secret, offering cheap bras in a very limited range of sizes. There’re also some Italian brands like Intimissimi that have a slightly wider size range in a slightly higher quality, but that’s it for the most part. When I say “limited size range” I mean that until about 2 years ago you wouldn’t be able to find a C cup in neither of those stores. Lately they’ve been slowly introducing C and sometimes D cups, but they’re still hard to find. Band sizes in Spanish brands are typically 32-34-36 (85-90-95), only now some of them are introducing 38 bands. Push-up bras are quite popular, especially with the younger population, and pre-formed foam cups are pretty much the standard. However, that’s starting to change in the last couple of years and now it’s becoming easier to find non-padded bras and even bralettes if you know where to look (as the current trend on the lingerie market is to gravitate towards less structured styles). There’s so much disinformation on bra fitting, so that the average Spanish consumer doesn’t even know what cup sizes mean: when asked about their bra size most people will answer only with their band size. And of course, everybody thinks that a D cup, whatever that is, must be absolutely huge!
BB: Who and what are your inspirations for your designs and how would you describe your brand's overall aesthetic?
SL: As I said earlier, art plays a major part in inspiring my designs, as well as vintage lingerie (I’m a huge fan of drooling over the website of The Underpinnings Museum!). Also, some of my favourite designers are Valentino and Alexander McQueen, I feel very inspired by their use of textiles (specially Valentino’s lace) and how they shape the woman’s body. And of course, some lingerie designers whose work I absolutely adore are Carine Gilson, Karolina Laskowska and Beth from Orchid Corsetry. The aesthetic I try to achieve with my brand is elegant and darkly romantic, but also timeless as I like my lingerie to be loved season after season.
BB: You have described your brand as "slow fashion" as opposed to the ever popular "fast fashion" that we've become accustomed to. What about slow fashion do you want people to know about when shopping for lingerie and clothing?
SL: I think the best advice about shopping for lingerie, clothing or anything else is that famous quote by Vivienne Westwood: “Buy less, choose well, make it last”. I don’t want people to think that slow fashion is something elitist and outrageously expensive. It’s true that my pieces aren’t cheap, but they have a fair price as they’re made of responsibly sourced quality materials and are designed to be cherished for a long time. But I’m aware that not all people can afford to buy items that are responsibly made, with eco-friendly materials and quality craftsmanship. Nevertheless, I believe that everyone can participate in the “slow fashion” movement, even if you can’t afford to buy only from ethical designers. “Slow fashion” is not just about buying from specific brands; it’s about making responsibly choices whenever you buy clothes. So, you can be making meaningful purchases whether you can afford to spend 4€ on a T-shirt or 200€ on a pair of custom knickers.
BB: What is your five year plan for your brand and what are the milestones you're hoping to hit as a brand, and what are you most proud of as a business owner?
SL: That’s a lot of difficult questions at once! Well, my five year plan includes having someone to help me with the business, with things like cutting fabric, packing orders and other small everyday tasks. I love sewing, so that’s a part of the process that I’d like to continue doing myself (unless I receive a really high amount of orders! In that case, I’d be very happy to hire a seamstress!). Another thing that I’d love to have is a proper studio space, given that after I move to Stockholm my studio is going to be reduced to a corner in my apartment! A dedicated sewing studio with enough space to act as a showroom, or even as a small shop, is one of my mid-term goals. Also, in the next few years I expect to grow my business having more international customers and also expanding my size range, especially for underwired bras. This is something I’m unable to do at the moment due to budget limitations, but I’d love to be more inclusive. Another thing I'm always working on is finding more sustainable materials: for example, I know that some companies are starting to produce elastics made from recycled fibres, so I’d love to introduce that kind of innovations in my brand! Finally, as a business owner I feel so proud when customers get in touch and tell me how amazing they feel when they wear my lingerie. I’m really happy for having achieved that, and incredibly grateful for having the nicest customers ever!
BB: What are you hoping the future of lingerie, both aesthetically and in business, are you hoping to see as an indie designer? What about the lingerie industry do you think most needs to be changed?
SL: I believe that the lingerie industry, as well as the fashion industry as a whole, is already changing. There are many new designers and brands, and a lot of us are trying to do things in a more sustainable and ethical way. People are more concerned about these issues, so the demand for ethical clothing is growing and even the main brands will introduce some changes in order to stay relevant: be more transparent about their factories and their working conditions, about their supply chain, etc. Aesthetically, there are some interesting trends that will develop over the next seasons. First, I think that the line between lingerie and fashion is quickly blurring, as fashion is taking more and more elements from lingerie (the “underwear as outerwear” trend is an example), but lingerie is also asking to be taken into consideration at the same level than “regular clothes” (the last campaign by luxury lingerie label Rosamosario stated “Don’t call it lingerie”).
Also there’s a growing inclination towards more relaxed and “minimalistic” styles in brands like Marieyat and 05.Studio, sometimes blending lingerie and activewear together. I think this minimalistic aesthetic, along with the ethical backstory that many of these brands have, pairs really well with the aim for a more simple and sustainable wardrobe that many people is having nowadays.
As for the things that need to change in the lingerie industry, I believe that the main one (along with the unsustainability of the “fast-fashion” model) is the issue about diversity and inclusivity. There have been great accomplishments lately regarding ethnic diversity (the re-definition of the “nude” colour, the slightly higher presence of people of colour in ads and lookbooks, etc.), but there’s still so much to do. Also, the LGBTQ2+ collective is massively underrepresented as there are very few brands that take into account different forms of sexuality and gender representation. I know from my own experience that this kind of things are difficult to achieve as a small brand (the imagery of my own brand is clearly lacking on diversity, and there’s a financial reason for that: I can’t afford to hire more models, and these are the models that I could find within my budget). But big brands have no excuse to hire models from different ethnical backgrounds, sexual orientations or different age groups.
BB: You just announced on your social media that you're moving your business to Stockholm in July. How do you think the lingerie industry differs from Barcelona to Stockholm and what was the cause for your decision to move?
SL: I think the biggest difference between the lingerie scene in Barcelona and Stockholm is that in Barcelona it’s all about big stores, cheaper stuff and absolutely no concerns about where clothes come from. In contrast, Swedish people care about things like sustainability and don’t care to pay more if they know they’re going to receive better quality. I haven’t seen many local lingerie brands in Stockholm, although they have a quite famous sustainable stockings brand called Swedish Stockings. I hope to get to know more local designers once I’m living there!
My decision to move was motivated by a variety of factors: first, the political and social situation in Barcelona was becoming a bit unstable, and also it’s getting outrageously uncomfortable to live in the city (and quite expensive too, due to the enormous amounts of tourists!). So, when my partner received a really good job offer from a great company in Stockholm, it came at a perfect time! We’d been thinking about the idea of living abroad for some time, and we have some friends already living in Stockholm. It’s a beautiful city and its people have a great sense of style (Think of super cool minimalist fashion!). Before we made our final decision, I spent some time researching how could I continue my brand there, and I found out that the conditions are actually better than in Spain! There are some administrative and financial measures to help young entrepreneurs like me, and Swedish people seem to love fashion and sustainability, so I believe it’s going to be a great place for me to grow both as a designer and as a person. Of course, if you ever visit Stockholm I’d be happy to have a (super stylish) Swedish coffee!
I hope you enjoyed this interview! Let me know what you think in the comments!
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