This year marks the 65th anniversary of La Perla, an Italian brand with a rich history and A-list fans including Priyanka Chopra, Naomi Campbell, Kourtney Kardashian and Dua Lipa.
First launched in Bologna in 1954 by corset maker Ada Masotti, La Perla has evolved to become one of the most well known luxury underwear brands in the world. "La Perla has changed in the same way that women have changed over the years" says the brand's Creative Director Alessandra Bertuzzi, but "functionality, technicality, craftsmanship the key aesthetics have been preserved and respected."
1950s
The now iconic lingerie brand originated in Bologna in 1954 and was brought to life by its founder Ada Masotti, a skilled corset maker known to those in the business as 'golden scissors'.
After borrowing $6,000 from a family friend to start her business, she set out to build her own brand made from luxury fabrics with style and comfort in mind.
The brand name was inspired by the elaborate way she would present her products to customers - carefully packaging them away in red velvet boxes similar to those you would use for jewellery.
1960s
With the likes of Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and more style icons paving the way in iconic flower power gear, La Perla’s previously neutral colour palette brought in the rainbows of the sixties. Splashing out with colourful florals, plaids and checked patterns, Masotti married the trends of the time with La Perla’s craftsmanship.
One of the brand’s most beloved campaigns from 1966, photographed by Studio Martelli, interprets the prevailing flower power of the time with a model covered in faux florals.
During this time, Ada Masotti’s son Alberto would leave medical school to join his mother at La Perla and became its marketing director. The brand also launched its first foray into swimwear.
1970s
As sexual liberation and the spirit of rebellion swept across the world, La Perla’s designs became sleeker and more natural as new research brought 'lightweight, comfortable and loose-fitting designs.' Notable designs introduced during this time included a silk jersey triangle bra and stretch lace sets.
Following the exuberance of colour and prints in the swinging sixties, La Perla also transitioned towards sheer and transparent fabrics in the latter part of the decade.
Supermodel Grace Jones became the face of La Perla’s swimwear campaign in 1974, in a series of photographs taken by Marco Emili.
Ada also makes her daughter-in-law Olga head designer of La Perla in 1972, saying to People in 1988, “I approve everything my daughter-in-law does because she does everything so well.”
1980s
As millions of women pulled on their power suits and got to work in the 1980s, La Perla rose to meet the needs of women with a busy schedule.
Bertuzzi says the mid-80s to 90s were a "key turning point" for the brand: "The use of elastic lace, a new and innovative colour palette, the use of true colour was atypical for the world of lingerie."
The brand also began to expand internationally, with People reporting in 1988 that La Perla had plans to “open a factory in Tokyo” as well as products sold internationally - notably in the US where they were carried in retailers including Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and more.
At the time La Perla was reportedly valued as a “$200-million-a-year phenomenon” with four companies under its belt. Alberto said in 1988 that the “whole new post-feminist mood” was sweeping the nation and head designer Olga declared, “A woman should be the most sexily ‘dressed’ when she is undressed.”
But Alberto added, “We must always tread that difficult line dividing the sensual from the vulgar.”
La Perla launched its Leavers lace short and triangle set during this period as well as “the first ever stretch lace wide-shouldered” lingerie piece, which it said championed “the idea of underwear as outerwear”.
Brigitte Nielsen reportedly sent Sylvester Stallone a photograph of herself wearing a La Perla bikini in a bid to meet the Rocky star in 1985. Whether or not this is true, Stallone and Nielsen were married the same year (they went on to divorce in 1987 and awkwardly had to star alongside one another in Creed II).
La Perla also ventured into a menswear line during this time and additionally launched a perfume range in 1986.
1990s
The 90s marked a glamorous new decade for La Perla, which saw the brand adapt to the underwear as outerwear trend that grew throughout the period. Everything from embroidered underwire bodysuits through to modern minimal Sculpture bras were launched around this time, while the first international La Perla boutiques were also opened in 1991.
Bertuzzi called the creation of the Sculpture bra one of the brand's "most iconic moments", saying, "It is a pure, absolute design garment that has combined the perfection of aesthetics with a tendency to minimalism of the moment with a perfect fit."
1997 also saw the publication of La Perla book Senso, photographed by Marino Parisotto, which explored the history of corsetry and lingerie. Campaign imagery became darker and more sensual with campaigns directed by Nadir, with many featuring later in 2012 book La Perla: Lingerie and Desire; a retrospective of the brand's history.
2000s
The noughties were another big decade for La Perla. With a focus on “femininity in the purest state” as well as “dream, emotion, perfection”, the brand additionally shifted to focus on the power of its Italian heritage.
The brand also celebrated its fiftieth anniversary by releasing a dedicated anniversary collection.
Although La Perla’s bread and butter is lingerie, a line of men’s swimwear was highlighted in 2006 when Daniel Craig stepped into the role of James Bond for the very first time.
In his debut Bond film Casino Royale, Craig made brand history when he stepped out of the water in a pair of La Perla’s Grigioperla bright blue swimming trunks - now one of the most memorable 007 moments of all time.
The trunks were later auctioned off in 2006 by Christie’s to the tune of £44,450. According to the Telegraph, the sale was the second most expensive sale of swimwear worn onscreen - the first is Princess Leia’s £63,220 golden bikini from Return of the Jedi.
2010s
The early 2010s saw a collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier, who reimagined Madonna’s iconic cone bra that he designed for her in the 1990s.
Alberto Masotti told People back in 1988, “underwear is no longer taboo, thanks partly to Madonna, but also to a whole new post-feminist mood.”
The bra was one of 27 pieces Gaultier designed for La Perla. Accoridng to Bertuzzi, the collaboration with Gautier was a highlight in La Perla's history.
The cone bras have since been worn by the likes of Dua Lipa, Kaia Gerber and Arizona Muse.
The company also traded hands in 2013 as it was purchased by Pacific Global Management and Silvio Scaglia, who claimed he had purchased it for $90 million (£72.89 million) at auction and beat the likes of Italian fashion group Calzedonia.
As La Perla sought to reinvent its menswear collection, it also held its first ever menswear show at Pitti Uomo, which featured nearly 60 looks spanning luxe silk tuxedo shirts, lounge wear and swimwear.
Designed by Emiliano Rinaldi, he said to Now Fashion at the time that the collection could be “worn anywhere” and continued, “I don't like guidelines. I want men to think for themselves and find their own charm and elegance.”
Another high profile moment came in 2017, when the brand presented a star-studded runway show during New York Fashion Week which saw the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell, Joan Smalls, Isabeli Fontana model its designs. Brand ambassador Kendall Jenner closed the show in a see-through gown.
La Perla celebrates its 65th anniversary this year and fittingly has dropped not one but three different collections to celebrate. They include their Petit Macrame and Shape-Allure collection.
Their third and final anniversary collection is their Maison line, which features a charming campaign of models dancing and causing havoc in a grand residence. The lace appliques that feature throughout the line are handmade with traditional Florentine embroidery techniques - keeping the brand firmly rooted in its cultural heritage.
