Meet The Founder
Valentine in her early modelling days. Photo Vanina Sorrenti.
Just over 15 years ago, I launched my first lingerie collection at a fashion show hosted at Julie’s restaurant in Holland Park. Julie’s was a stones throw away from my family home in the then eclectic, eccentric and bohemian Notting Hill!
Behind the scenes backstage at my first show.
The launch was a couple of months after my Graduation show at Central Saint Martin’s where Sophie Dahl modelled and Charlotte Tilbury and her team did the make-up! I remember being ecstatic welcoming Dolly Jones from Vogue.com, and ‘Fashion TV’ covering the show, which then broadcasted the show every five hours or so for six months.
A debut feature followed by the Evening Standard and the now infamous ‘little peep bottom bow knicker’ was then sent off around the world to be shot in Vogue, Elle, Tatler, The Face, Sunday Times Style, American Elle… this little knicker caused a super stir. The demand for the little knicker was so huge that it got sent from magazine to magazine and didn’t reach home for 6 months.
Elizabeth Hurley wearing Damaris, with Elton John in Vogue, December 2002
I was chosen by the British Fashion Council to have a complimentary stand in New Generation at Fashion Week to display the collection, alongside other amazing up and coming designers such as Jonathan Saunders and Roksanda Illincic. Incidentally we had all been at Central St Martins together studying fashion. Roskanda and I went on to create an exquisite exclusive collaboration a few years later. She’s one of my favourite people.
Roksanda and I holidaying in Formentera this summer and the Roksanda for Damaris collection.
Elle Magazine amazingly awarded me a prestigious STYLE award for the cheeky knick-knacks… I received the ‘Young Enterprise of the Year’ award for Spring/Summer 2003. I even got invited to Buckingham Palace to meet HRH Queen Elizabeth II for a Celebration of British Design!
It was a wonderful beginning and the start to an extremely fun and hardworking 15 years to come…
So now, we’ve decided the launch our blog to give you an insight into Damaris’ and Mimi’s world.
We will take you to our shoot locations for our seasonal campaigns, to Shanghai with our atelier, where all the love and passion goes into creating the little pieces of lingerie, as well as meeting lingerie buyers from some of the most prestigious stores in the world whose dedicated passion for the undies keeps your lingerie drawer (and your bottom and boobs) looking amazing! Some posts will be visually fun and some will be informative. You will meet our lovely team and see the heartache and love that goes into making the perfectly-fitting bra and knicker sets just for for you and you and you!
Enjoy!
