Lonely Lingerie Features in the New York Times

New Zealand-based label Lonely Lingerie, which was founded by Helene Morris in 2009, is profiled in the New York Times. Launched as a small partnership between Morris and collaborator Steve Ferguson, Lonely calls itself an “inclusive take on luxury lingerie,” designed to put wearers at ease.

Sold at retailers like Mohawk General Store and Anthropologie, the line offers staple undergarments as well as swimwear, silk pajama sets and robes. With “Jessie” – the spring/summer 2016 collection launching this month – Morris adds several new designs to the existing assortment of bras that have made the brand a favorite with women like Lena Dunham and Gigi Hadid.

Every season Morris has added a new size. “We are still quite a small label, so it has been something technically we have to get right,” she says, adding how important it is to see “people comfortable in their own skin, and to see diversity.” Lingerie lines too often prize a limited selection of sizes; with Lonely, Morris seeks to offer something missing elsewhere.

To create pictures for the collection, Morris sent four women on a three-day road trip to the West Coast of the United States. Travelling without a hairdresser or makeup artist – just a handful of new bras and briefs – they returned an intimate photo series. In the images, the models wear the lingerie on hastily made beds, sitting on patio furniture; in some images, they rest their heads on each other’s shoulders or lie arm-to-arm.

The images, like the collection, are soothing in their simplicity. “It’s about how lingerie makes you feel,” Morris says of her goal. “We hope to empower people with our design, and challenge the traditional stereotypes of lingerie.”

Original article by Haley Mlotek, The New York Times, February 9, 2016.

Photo by Zara Mirkin and Mayan Toledano.