/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56475869/lglb_AW17_Press_Campaign_CMYK_LoRes_01.0.jpg)
Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Serena Rees is no stranger to the fashion industry. She launched Agent Provocateur in 1994, the incredibly luxe (and equally racy) intimates and accessories line that pushed boundaries and challenged how people viewed sexuality.
Now, a full decade after selling Agent Provocateur, Rees is re-entering the world of intimates with Les Girls Les Boys — a men’s and women’s underwear and streetwear line that we’re betting will make a big impact of its own.
The London-based label debuts today with an ambitious mixed bag of products, including everything from bras, briefs, and bodysuits to T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and more. While the range might feel a bit all over the place, the brand’s message and concept is hyper-focused on the millennial customer.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9148001/lglb_AW17_Press_Campaign_CMYK_LoRes_05.jpg)
“What we did in the ’90s — that idea of empowering women, celebrating sexuality in a more overt way than had been seen before — felt completely right for that time,” says Rees. “Now I feel that it’s gone too far. Sexy has turned toward objectification. I want Les Girls Les Boys to be a celebration, not a showcase. The idea is that all body types and genders are accepted.”
Targeting young consumers in 2017 can be easily called out as pandering, but Les Girls Les Boys has managed to do so while still feeling totally genuine across the board. Not only is every piece intentionally designed and styled as unisex, but they’re all available at an accessible price point, too: The full collection starts at $25 and caps out at $150.
Take that into consideration along with the brand’s philosophy of “Bed to Street” (clothes that can go from lounging at home to going out, reflective of how people genuinely live their lives), and Les Girls Les Boys really couldn’t be more millennial if it tried. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and in this case, it isn’t.
Rees notes she was initially inspired by the way her own children and their friends dress and share clothes. “The brand philosophy identifies and celebrates love, friendship, diverse identities, and mixed cultural mindsets,” she says. “I really looked to what the millennial cares about and how they see themselves.”
Everything from the T-shirts to the underwear is very minimal in design. Most garments are in either solid white or black with the brand name imprinted on the waistband or elsewhere. The palette branches out more with the lace and ribbed pieces, where you’ll find some red, light pink, green, and even a little bit of glitter in some of the bodysuit fabrics. They’re not meant to be flashy or out of the ordinary by any means.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9148007/lglb_AW17_Press_Campaign_CMYK_LoRes_04.jpg)
From its messaging and products to its gritty, moodboard-like campaign imagery, Les Girls Les Boys successfully echoes the versatile, flexible, and simple ways people live and dress today.
“This is the new sexy,” Rees says. “Be who you are, tread your own path, be resolutely democratic and self-assured, celebrate the fluidity of love and friendship, [and] cross cultural mindsets and diverse identities.”
Starting today, you can check out and shop the full collection at lesgirlslesboys.com, as well as other online retailers like Selfridges, Shopbop, East Dane, and Zalando.