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Light Up Lingerie

On November 29th, Victoria’s Secret aired their 2011 fashion show featuring performances by Kanye, Jay-Z, Maroon 5 and my favorite Nicki Minaj. I love Nicki Minaj for her ideas around identity and her always interesting fashion choices but what caught my eye was the technology integrated in to the looks presented during her set.

Figure 1. Victoria’s Secret’s show

They had four or five different versions of these neon wings and here you can see a brassiere they had with light up LED hearts. While this isn’t a particularly new technology, I’m fairly certain it’s a rare occurrence to see undergarments that light up. VS seems to use a mix of different materials to simulate this effect as well including disco ball mirrors, glitter and sparkles, and other light-reflecting textiles.

While the full show had 6 sets of looks, you can watch the Nicki Minaj performance and related collection here:

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5 responses to “Light Up Lingerie”

  1. lipequini Avatar
    lipequini

    This is funny. Because apart from using it in their intimate lifes – which is not up for me to discuss what is tasteful and what isn’t, hehe – would women really use light up ligerie underneath their clothes? I mean, we have discussed in class many times how much work we have to put to dress properly, and worry about our cleavage and if the bra strap is showing. So I don’t think that, even if the cost was reasonable, women would want their panties and bras lighting up whenever.

    Either way, the whole thing looks really cool 🙂

  2. pickup Avatar
    pickup

    See – i think this is where one of the main differences between The Beauty Myth and Fresh Lipstick come into play. I think this sort of under garment, along with the entire Victoria’s Secret line, represents the empowered woman owning her sexuality. Dressing well, as you indicate, can include one’s under garments. If women can feel stronger or more assertive through wearing certain lingerie, that should be promoted. However, this line seems to be capturing that sort of futuristic playfulness Nicki Minaj repeatedly wears so well – and as such a strong personality in the entertainment business, is becoming more acceptable.

    1. BrianniNelson Avatar
      BrianniNelson

      I’ve always been intrigued by female sexuality and the ways in which we are told we can and cannot express it. This light up lingerie is interesting because it’s both playful and bold. We see the colorful neon, the toy like accessories, and whimsical wings and we get a sense of a very light hearted, fun atmosphere. But at the same time, she has lights on her breast. Quite literally illuminating her pleasure spots. So, is the lingerie just cute or is it more provocative? I’d like to think that a less commercial company than Victoria Secret will definitely run with this trend in the future and create much more risque pieces. What will be interesting to see is if those more “adult” versions can still keep a woman’s sexuality at the forefront, or if designs will be created with the assumption that there will be a male gaze present to look at the lingerie.

      1. pickup Avatar
        pickup

        Sometimes I wonder if that’s one of the big differences between the two – we are subject to the male gaze, but the ability to hold and control that gaze is a power that I think, through these fierce fashions, women should have the ability to utilize to progress themselves if desired. However, I have a hard time reconciling if that notion should even be considered. There seems to be this very critical dialogue between men and women that can either be looked at as a power struggle between the two or a struggle for independence. After years of being trained, it takes a certain strength to return the gaze, breaking the dialogue to confront the assertion of dominance that happens when women typically submit themselves to be the looked upon. Like lipstick and nail polish in the depression era, if lingerie can secretly help us do that, I’m all for it.

  3. pickup Avatar
    pickup

    Just read an interesting bit on how Adriana Lima prepped for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show and it relates to lipequini’s article Social Media and Women’s Body Image quite a bit. In the Nov 28th, 2011 issue, Time Magazine reports that nine days before the event Lima “shifted to a liquid diet; then 12 hours before the show, she stopped drinking all together.” While claiming she’d make “a pretty bad nutritionist,” having this in Pop Culture section of the magazine does not bode well for young girls who look up to her, like me.

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