Undergarments have traditionally been used for centuries for cleanliness and utility. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that Lady Duff-Gordon of Lucile became the first pioneer in creating fashionable undergarments for ladies, designing the first lingerie as alternatives to uncomfortable corsets.
In fact, “lingerie” is literally just the word for undergarments in French.
Today, lingerie is a multi-billion-dollar industry and a fashion powerhouse. Continue reading to learn about the most expensive lingerie brands out there.
We limited this list to brands that are defined by their lines of lingerie, excluding fashion houses who have only dabbled in a collection or two. While expensive, these aren’t “lingerie brands,” so we didn’t include them.
9. Fleur of England
Founder: Fleur Turner
Established: 2003
photo source: Fleur of England
The Aria lace-panel robe is one of many luxury items designed by Fleur of England for their high-end clients. The robe is a silk blend designed with bespoke luxury embroidery and floral patterns.
Fleur Turner started the brand in 2003 after Princess Anne awarded Turner the Fashion Export Newcomer award for her fledgling fashion designs.
One of their bestsellers is the boudoir bra in Fleur of England’s Jasmine collection, released for the Spring of 2013. The soft cup white embroidery design has silk-covered buttons and silver hardware.
Fleur Turner favors designs in white Chantilly lace with silk woven into floral embroidery that emphasizes its shiny luster and skimpy, see-through beauty.
Did you know?
Chantilly lace is bobbin lace, made by hand through a strenuous process of braiding. It’s named after the French city of Chantilly and has been made since the 17th century. Even today, it maintains the same material beauty, which features an outlined pattern with high detail and a fine grain, outlined in an untwisted, flat strand called “cordonnet.”
8. Pleasurements
Founder: Rebecca van der Wurff
Established:
photo source: Pleasurements
Pleasurements was founded by Rebecca van der Wurff to design lingerie and lingerie-inspired erotica. Their collections include the designs of many famous artists, including the leather artist, Paul Seville.
Pleasurements has also done co-designs with Tisja Damen, Bordelle, Studio Pia, Coco de Mer, and more, many of which will show up later this list.
The LBD Dress Set is one of their most luxurious items, costing the Euro equivalent of $1,174.37. The lingerie is made in a black dress-style with French lace, light enough to reveal its Bar-Tender Balconette Bra and Cocktail High Waist Brief.
Their designs favor 24k-plated accent hardware and bondage lingerie that skirts the line between fashion and kink.
Did you know?
Seville’s leather-focused fashion designs have gotten around. They have been featured in the collections of Vivienne Westwood, Karl Lagerfeld, and even Givenchy.
7. Bordelle
Founder: Alexandra Popa
Established: 2009
photo source: Farfetch
Bordelle is a luxury lingerie brand founded in 2009 by Alexandra Popa who moved from her economics degree to a design studio in London. The brand is famous for crafted body-con silhouettes in lace, blended with hardware plated with 24k gold. Their elastic strap systems are customized for as many fits and sizes as possible.
The Bordelle lingerie brand is sold in over 25 countries and continues to update its Signature and Mainline collections. They’re famous for selling satin corsets for $900 or more as well as luxury items like this corset slip dress for $1,314.
Did you know?
Bordelle’s recent set is known as the Tulle collection based on the bioluminescence of Aurelia Aurita, a deep-sea jellyfish. Their “Jewel of the Sea” bodywear includes interwoven threads of glow-in-the-dark lace.
6. Karolina Laskowska
Founder: Karolina Laskowska
Established: 2012
photo source: Jane’s Vanity
The Karolina Laskowska fashion brand, named after the British designer, was started in 2012. She won the 2014 UK Lingerie Award for New Designer of the Year and was featured in the London Graduate Fashion Week.
Some of her latest designs run up quite a bill, with items like the Asteria Corset costing $1,379. It was custom-designed for Jane’s Vanity in an extremely limited-edition, using a base of marine blue bobbinet tulle, double-layered, with a trim of black silk and accents of metallic gold Solstiss lace.
Did you know?
The Norway-based brand was also used to jumpstart Laskowska’s digital museum called The UnderPinnings Museum, which is dedicated to celebrating underwear throughout history.
5. Claire Pettibone
Founder: Claire Pettibone
Established: 1994
photo source: Claire Pettibone
The Claire Pettibone lingerie collection focuses on luxury details made from European lace, flow embroideries, and bohemian design templates. Their designs are inspired by vintage styles that carry over beyond their lingerie to wedding gowns and accessories as well.
The Pettibone luxury lingerie house was founded in 1994 and became a best-seller at the major lingerie marketplaces soon after, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and more. The two-piece Camelot lingerie set is one of its most luxurious items, costing $1,545.
Did you know?
Claire Pettibone became even better known after 2005 when she launched her Bridal Gown collection, which appeared on Women’s Wear Daily. Priscilla Chan married Mark Zuckerberg in one of Pettibone’s best dresses.
4. Agent Provocateur
Founder: Joseph Corré and Serena Rees
Established: 1994
photo source: Agent Provocateur
Agent Provocateur is a high-quality lingerie brand that specializes in integrating Swarovski crystals and other elements into their products, creating a style they call “sexy modernist.” They love to use Leaver’s lace in their patterns and nude chiffon lining in their designs.
They sell a pink bra crafted from rose gold and bound in pink silk satin that costs $1,555, which is one of the most expensive single lingerie pieces you can buy.
Did you know?
The British lingerie brand Agent Provocateur was started in 1994 by two designers who were married at the time. When they divorced, the company became the property of a private equity firm and opened 13 boutiques around the world. They are best known for their provocative ad videos starring models like Chloe Hayward, Melissa George, and Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann.
3. Studio Pia
Founder: Pia Harpur Conaghan
Established: 2017
photo source: Pleasurements
Studio Pia is a luxury lingerie brand that sells many expensive nightwear sets like the Naga Nightwear, which retails for the Euro equivalent of $1,561.27. The set even has elements plated with 24k gold, which only increases its value.
The set features beautiful embroidery in the shape of sheer mesh snakes, with accented details of what is known as “peace silk.” Peace silk is also known as Ahimsa silk, whose name comes from the fact that it is made without hurting or killing silkworms.
Pia Harpur Conaghan founded Studio Pia and imparted her views of vegetarianism and environmentalism to the practices of luxury lingerie making.
Did you know?
Studio Pia features many adjustable sections sewn into their lingerie, which prioritize personalized fits for loveliness at any size. The brand was founded in 2017 and sells specialist collections in boutiques in 12 countries.
2. La Perla
Founder: Ada Masotti
Established: 1954
photo source: La Perla
La Perla is a luxury lifestyle brand that was founded in 1954 by Ada Masotti in Bologna, Italy. Masotti was founded as a corset designer and branched out to other items, including ready-to-wear clothes, swimwear, sleepwear, and other accessories.
One example of their brand’s luxury design is this Long Silk Nightgown with Leavers Lace, which costs $1,680. It balances beautiful layers of silk and lace with a black honeycomb mesh and a deep V neckline. It comes with a matching robe, blazer, and heels.
Did you know?
La Perla’s famous 50th anniversary collection in 2004 was one of their crowning achievements, made almost entirely from Valenciennes lace. They even achieved cinema fame when they designed Daniel Craig’s swimming trunks for Casino Royale.
1. Kiki de Montparnasse
Founder: Alice Ernestine Prin
Established: 2005
photo source: Neiman Marcus
The most expensive lingerie brand is Kiki De Montparnasse. The brand was inspired by the life and works of Alice Prin, the “Queen of Montparnasse,” who was a model, actress, painter, and memoirist during the French Jazz Age.
She takes her affinity for the avant-garde to her clothing designs, which persist to this day in the form of this lingerie brand.
The lingerie sets from Kiki feature French striped lace, sheer, voile fabric, and other flairs like buttoned cuffs, pussy-bow ties, and flowing contrast lace.
Blouses and lingerie sets from Kiki cost anywhere from a few hundred to $2,500 for this Allover Lace Nightgown, made by Kiki and sold through Neiman Marcus.
The brand was established in 2005 in New York, decades after Alice Prin had died.
Did you know?
Prin not only applied her avant-garde style to modeling, clothes, and painting, but to her roles in films as well. The most famous of these are the modernist explosion of silent style called L’Inhumaine (1923) and the surrealist works of Man Ray like L’Etoile de mer (1928).
