WITH fashion royalty Vivienne Westwood as a mother, it’s no surprise that Joseph Corre has made his mark on the industry.
As co-founder of rebel lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, the 56-year-old has helped transform what women aspire to when it comes to underwear.
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He was spurred into action after being unimpressed by faded knickers being flogged on London’s high streets.
So in 1994, he and his then-wife Serena Rees launched their first boudoir style store in the heart of Soho, an area with a reputation for sex and scandal that was the perfect setting for his bold designs.
As the luxury brand celebrates its 30th anniversary, women around the world will pay homage to its iconic briefs.
From supermodels to Z-list hopefuls, everyone wanted to be photographed in AP underwear – after a little help from Britain’s favorite newspaper.
“The Sun made us famous,” AP creative director Sarah Shotton told me at a Killing Kittens event at the Soho store.
“Katie Price was always being photographed in her underwear and appearing on the front pages of the newspaper.”
From the beginning, AP designs were a statement of power, success and seduction.
Sarah said in another interview: “Agent Provocateur has always been about the woman being in control.”
Over the years, the retailer’s racy photos have featured supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Daisy Lowe and Abbey Clancy — and generated some controversy.
Screaming in ecstasy
“You need to shake things up a bit, even if it means offending the odd customer,” founder Joseph previously said.
“I mean, what’s the point if you don’t offend anyone?”
In 2001, a raunchy advert featuring Kylie Minogue was deemed too sexual for television and banned.
In the pornographic video, the pop star rides a red velvet mechanical bull in lacy stockings and suspenders as she screams in ecstasy.
“Will all men rise?” Kylie asks at the end of the video, before calling the brand “the most erotic lingerie in the world.”
It became one of the most viewed videos of all time online.
A decade later, the AP found itself in trouble again.
A 2012 ad showed models in bras and suspenders “kidnapping” a woman.
To the sound of pounding music, the woman runs in a desperate attempt to escape the intruders, before being converted by the models and emerging in a sexy set of ivory underwear.
The two-minute video to promote the brand’s Soiree Gold collection was deemed “misogynistic and disturbing” by a whistleblower.
But the Advertising Standards Authority authorized it to be shown.
The controversies did not seem to bother Joseph, who, by his own admission, “is not an ordinary businessman”.
His late father, Malcolm McLaren, managed the Sex Pistols, and Joseph allegedly punched the bride’s father at Blur bassist Alex James’ wedding.
“So-called business rules always seemed like a bunch of nonsense to me,” he shrugged in an interview.
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Upon its release in 1994, Agent Provocateur quickly became known for epitomizing a particular type of feminism, where women reclaim authority by embracing symbols previously used to objectify them.
As Joseph once said: “Agent Provocateur is about an attitude, about empowerment.”
And the glamorous Agents who work in the brand’s stores have to embody these values.
They were “like a gang of big girls,” according to Denna Cartamkhoob, who worked at the Soho store in the 1990s and later made a film, Rising From The Gusset, about her experiences.
She said: “They are all openly open about sex and are promiscuous and manipulative with their sexuality, such as in terms of selling expensive underwear and taking money from men.
“Day after day there was a lot of humor, but overall it was an incredible education in people – what they did and what they didn’t want their wives to know.
“I also saw the most vulnerable sides of people.
“The experience was formative for me, it gave me a lot of wisdom that education and life didn’t give me.”
Singer Paloma Faith is another former agent who has spoken about the confidence she gained working at the AP store in Soho in the early 90s.
It’s an incredible honor that so many incredible women use Agent Provocateur
Sarah Shotton
The Brit Award winner became the face of an AP campaign, posing in lingerie in sensual photos.
Recalling her store days, Paloma, 42, once said: “It was more than just underwear to me.
“When I got here, for me, it represented something about independence and something about female empowerment.
“I found that really inspiring and it was definitely a catalyst for a lot of my work after that.”
Agents working in the boutiques wear pink uniforms designed by the late Vivienne Westwood which, according to creative director Sarah, “has become an icon in its own right”.
She added: “Women couldn’t get enough of the brand and men couldn’t stop buying it for their girlfriends and wives.
“If you receive a pink box from Agent Provocateur, you know your partner has excellent taste in lingerie.”
Following the success of the Soho store, AP expanded, opening its first store in America in 2000.
In 2006, nine stores opened in Europe and America.
Another ten followed in 2007.
Nipple tassels
In 2017, Beyoncé revealed her pregnancy with twins while wearing a burgundy Agent Provocateur bra in an iconic pregnancy photoshoot.
And one of the brand’s ads from the 90s, set in a forest, portrayed a world where “women are bold, fearless and liberated and men are enslaved to satisfy their every whim”.
In the ad, supermodel Karen Elson wears white ribbed suspenders and is seen subduing a knight.
In another scene, the model pins a hapless man to the ground with her high-heeled shoes while being crowned with a crown of thorns.
In the mid-1990s, Agent Provocateur cemented its position as an edgy retailer of high-quality lingerie and sensual products such as masks, massage oils, whips and nipple tassels.
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Joseph and Serena were awarded MBEs for their services to the fashion industry in 2007.
But Joseph rejected his, accusing then-Prime Minister Tony Blair of being “morally corrupt”.
He and Serena split in 2007 after she left him for punk legend Paul Simonon, former Clash bassist.
Soon afterwards, private equity firm 3i Group bought AP for around £60 million.
The former couple maintained a stake in the business, but Serena left the company.
Joseph remained creative director before leaving in 2009 to focus on music and his menswear brand Child Of The Jago.
Agent Provocateur weathered the 2009 recession, reporting an 8% increase in sales, with dozens of stores in 14 countries.
But over the next decade, the country was plagued by financial difficulties amid a slowdown in high street luxury spending.
In 2014, 3i Group attempted to offload its stake for £250 million, but no buyer was found.
Two years later, 3i admitted it had been forced to reduce the value of the deal by £39m.
You have to shake things up… what’s the point if you don’t offend anyone!
José Corre
In 2017, the company entered administration and was acquired by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley’s company Four Holdings for around £25 million.
The controversial businessman was criticized for allowing the company to continue sales in three stores in Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine.
However, despite the ups and downs, AP has maintained its reputation as a rebellious and sexually powerful women’s brand.
But underwear doesn’t come cheap.
A basque will cost well over £1,000 and the average price of a bra is a few hundred. . . more.
Beyoncé wore the brand on her Renaissance World Tour last year, while Billie Eilish wore the clothes for a recent Vogue cover.
“It’s an incredible honor that so many incredible women wear Agent Provocateur,” said Sarah.
“At the end of the day, the AP woman of our dreams is strong, smart and knows what she wants.
“We feel like every woman has a little Agent Provocateur inside her.”
If only we could afford it. . .
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
