A Different Kind of French Lingerie

Atelier Amour was founded in Paris in 2014 by Rachel Bouchon, following fifteen years spent inside some of the great French lingerie houses — Chantal Thomass, Simone Pérèle, Barbara and, finally, Aubade, where she worked on the development of Boîte à Désir.

What she created feels unmistakably French, but distinctly more modern in its intentions.

Atelier Amour takes the codes of traditional lingerie and plays with them. Beautiful lace and precise construction are interrupted by graphic straps, open cuts, ties waiting to be undone, magnetic fastenings and pieces designed to reveal rather than simply cover.

Bras open. Briefs unfasten. Straps adjust around the body. Even the smallest piece of hardware can become part of the experience of wearing the lingerie.

There is wit to it, but never novelty for novelty’s sake. The best Atelier Amour designs are beautifully resolved pieces of lingerie first; the playfulness is built into the construction.

Some styles follow traditional bra sizing and structure, while others use adjustable straps and flexible fits that allow the wearer to decide exactly how the piece sits on the body. Across open-cup bras, briefs and thongs, bodysuits, suspenders, harnesses and accessories, the same design language runs through everything: sensual, graphic and deliberately interactive.

We first brought Atelier Amour to Naughty Knickers in 2018. Since then, we’ve watched the house evolve through collection after collection while retaining the thing that made us want it in the first place: a very French understanding of lingerie, with considerably fewer rules.