The thrill of La Perla

To speak of La Perla merely as a lingerie or undergarment manufacturer means not giving it its just deserts. That’s because the Italian thoroughbred, Bologna-based House of La Perla can truly be said to have put seduction and sensuality squarely on the agenda. The House was established in 1954 by the mother of its current president, Alberto Masotti, who valiantly carries on in its founder’s footsteps never forgetting her strongly held belief that a one-meter divide must always separate seduction from vulgarity. Mother and son share the same passion for those far reaches of the mind we call “fantasy”.

It’s half a century now that women have been purchasing and donning La Perla-wear. Do you feel it has changed their attitude to seduction?
I’m sure it has. Take the dull and drab years after World War II, for instance.
That’s when La Perla decided the time had come to bring a flash of life onto the scene. Till then underwear had been just that – plain black or at best beige under-coveralls. La Perla was the first to introduce a splash of colour thus changing women’s attitude to this type of garment by making them discover its seductive power and freeing their fantasies.

What do you have in store for dressing these fantasies in the future?
I’m no fortune-teller but there are signs pointing to a direction.
A general fall-off in ideologies and values and a thinning-out of overlying superstructures has allowed women’s instincts to emerge more freely. Post-feminism has lost its grip making room in women’s undergarments for playful and allusive motifs that are as much a source of fun for the wearer as they are for her partner.

How visible is La Perla quality?
Our commitment to excellence is ongoing and unflinching. We use the full range of equipment available to us to achieve our quality goals, from traditional machines to the latest “leavers” that make splendidly refined lace. Our older machines, the first generation versions of the special looms we employ, have been upgraded with the latest automated devices and now run faster. The use of quality materials such as “broderie anglaise” is also an essential prerequisite. But it’s on the wearer that our quality comes out best.
Design R&D is a veritable obsession with us at the House. But that’s because we’re well aware that shifting a line by even just a few centimetres can make for a totally different look. The most reliable measure of our excellence, though, is ultimately the wearer’s enthusiasm for our garments.

Are superior quality and luxury necessarily synonymous?
I have my own idea of what constitutes “luxury” and it’s not necessarily “opulence”. Excellence and luxury are separate concepts and the onus of conveying a sense of excellence is up to the House.
Excellence has a price : R&D, the development of special laces, quality craftsmanship, the choice of superior materials are all cost-intensive factors bearing on the price of the final product. But the outcome is quite different from that of a diamond-studded slip, for instance.
It’s the breed of luxury and ostentation that’s definitely not part of La Perla philosophy. That’s why most of our production is done in Italy so as to best achieve the goal of tangible quality for which we constantly strive.

How do you manage to keep astride of fashion trends?
We of course closely follow the macro-trends of changing feminine sensuality. But the care and attention that’s put into making a truly innovative garment means that a La Perla bra, for instance, can still be safely and proudly worn even three or four years down the line. Our approach is similar to Yves Saint Laurent’s. His suits were designed to be taken out of the wardrobe again and again without the wearer ever being made to feel out of fashion.

Finally, what’s your core business?
Lingerie and bathing suits are of course our blockbusters. It’s four years (eight seasons) though now that we’ve been presenting a La Perla-quality apparel collection on the domestic and world markets. But there’s more. Today’s consumer is more poly-sensorial and highly informed than ever, and extremely choosy when it comes to making a purchase. But no less than as at the time of the mythical Achilles, the modern day consumer thirsts for thrills and longs to dream. That’s why we’ve decided to explore new avenues and media through which to communicate our typical values, such as music, publishing, fragrances even. In 2004 we’ll be celebrating our fiftieth anniversary and we’ve organised two important art exhibitions, one given over to painting the other to sculpture, to commemorate the event.

Interview by Fabio Pornaro