What's in the name of lingerie collections?

Adelaide. Feria. Couture. Marquises. Andora. Chantilly. Tulip. Africa Wild.

The lingerie designer community typically exhibits great creativity with the names of their collections. When looking at these collections, I always wonder: How did the designer pick this name for this collection? Is the name based on a partciular theme, color, or material? Or, are the names chosen randomly, such as based on the names of family or friends? Or are the names chosen simply in alphabetical order, based on the fist letter of the name, similar to how the National Hurricance Center picks the names of hurricanes and tropical storms??? Sometimes I wonder….

Undoubtedly, exotic places get big play in lingerie collections: Simone Perele offers the Fiji Collection, Hawai Collection, Caracas Collection, and Rio Collection, all of which seek to transport you to those exotic places and experiences. (Now, if only purchasing the Fiji collection would come with an all- expense paid vacation to Fiji!) Simone Perele doesn’t have license on this theme, however. Chantelle, of course, offers the very popular Africa collection.

Then there are the “fruit” names, which appear to be designed to associate the collection with one’s appetite for delicious, sweet, and sensual fruit. Our experience suggests that this theme is a winner. We recently had tremendous success with the Simone Perele Cherry collection. We even had some female customers say that their men were just hypnotized with the Cherry Collection!

It's also common for lingerie collections to be named after the various laces and fabrics used to make the sets. For example, Chantelle offers the Chantilly and Chantilly glamour collections, a clear reference to the type of lace used in these collections.

French Lingerie collections, in particular, seem to be inspired by the anniversaries of famous musicians or royalty from the 18th Century (i.e., Marie Antoinette). Simone Perele, for instance, offers the the Opera Collection and the Marquise (courtesan) Collection, an obvious reference to the various titles of French nobility.

Some of the names, however, seem to have been picked randomly, and not based on the themes discussed above. For instance, Jonquil offers the Ambrosia, Anita, Melody, Liz, Lydia, Natalie and May collections. Jonquil must have a lot of friends!!! I bet her friends are grateful for the celebrity!

Whatever the name, it is clear that the name of the lingerie collection has the power to transport customers to that exotic spot or that bite of fruit. These names illustrate just how much we match our feelings and personalities with our intimate apparel.

Indeed, at Coup de Foudre Lingerie, we sometimes re-name lingerie collections to reflect the Washington, D.C. culture. The Chantelle Couture collection was quickly re-branded as the "Corporate" collection, which was picked to reflect the corporate nature of the pin-stripped bra and panty set, a very popular set amongst our clientele.

With the U.S. Presidential election fast approaching, should we re-name one of our lingerie collections after Presidential candidates? Some would argue that you need to support your candidate in any way possible! I think I’ll leave that debate to Wonkette.