Agent Provocateur is a British

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

retailer founded in 1994 by

Joseph Corré Joseph Ferdinand Corré (born 30 November 1967) is a British activist and businessman, who co-founded Agent Provocateur in 1994. Early years Corré was born in Clapham, south London, the son of British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood ...

and Serena Rees. The company has stores in 13 countries.

History

1994–2007

In 1994, Agent Provocateur was founded by

, the son of

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

, and his then-wife Serena Rees. The first store opened in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

on Broadwick Street. The company sold colourful and fashionable lingerie Joseph Corré was the designer for the brand.

2007–2017

In 2007, after the divorce of Corré and Rees, 3i, a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm that invests in mid-size companies, purchased 80% of the company for £60 million. Between November 2007 and March 2009 the company opened 13 shops expanding to the US, Russia, Dubai and Hong Kong By March 2008, Agent Provocateur's profits dropped 18% to £2.2 million due to the cost of expansion. Garry Hogarth stepped down as CEO in February 2016. In March 2017, the business entered

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

. As part of a "pre-pack" deal, it was purchased by Four Holdings, a company one-third owned by British businessman Mike Ashley who reportedly paid around "£25m after seeing off competition from private equity firm Lion Capital."

Marketing

The company is known for its provocative videos. Australian actress

Melissa George Melissa George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian actress and entrepreneur. A former national artistic rollerskating champion and model, George began her acting career playing Angel Parrish in the Australian soap opera Home and Away (1993– ...

, English model Chloe Hayward and American model Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann appeared in a

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is a two-time Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is best known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film '' Hedwig and th ...

-directed campaign, which urged women to control their own destinies while wearing the company's lingerie. In December 2001, company produced a controversial short film featuring Kylie Minogue riding a velvet bucking bronco while wearing the company's underwear. In the 2000s, the brand's annual revamp of its website, first by Wax New Media and then Large Design, became an industry benchmark. In 2006,

Mike Figgis Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...

directed a short film for Agent Provocateur starring model Kate Moss. Other models have included actress Maggie Gyllenhaal in 2007, British model

Daisy Lowe Daisy Rebecca Lowe (born 27 January 1989) is an English fashion model who has modelled for editorial photo shoots, commercial advertising campaigns and fashion shows. She is the daughter of Pearl Lowe, the singer-songwriter turned textile and fa ...

in 2008, First black Supermodel in 2012 Shar Michelle to Campaign for the brand. and model Hailey Clauson in a 2014 ad campaign photographed by

Miles Aldridge Miles Aldridge (born 29 September 1964) is a British fashion photographer and artist. Early life Born in North London to graphic designer Alan Aldridge, Miles grew up accustomed to celebrity – John Lennon was a family friend, as well as Eri ...

. In January 2019, the brand hired plus-size model

Charli Howard Charlotte "Charli" Howard (born 6 April 1991) is an English model, author and body activist. She is from South-East London, England. She is an activist for diversity within the fashion industry. In September 2019, she was announced as the present ...

to front their Valentine's Day campaign, entitled "A Love Letter To Myself".

Logo and wordmark

The original Agent Provocateur logo and

wordmark __notoc__ A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...

were set from an existing over-the-counter typeface. As Corré’s venture grew, graphic design company House Industries redrew and expanded on the logo. They penned a flowing Spencerian wordmark as well as a racy leg logo for products including tissue paper and fabric monograms.

Criticism

Agent Provocateur had some of its advertisements banned by the

Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom) The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of adver ...

for "being degrading to women." Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

in February 2022, many Western companies curtailed their operations in Russia. According to Agent Provocateur's Russian website there are 10 Agent Provocateur franchise stores still operating in Moscow, leading to claims that the company is helping to finance Russia's war in Europe.

References

External links

{{Authority control Sports Direct 3i Group companies Lingerie brands Clothing companies established in 1994 Retail companies established in 1994 Clothing retailers of England English brands Clothing companies based in London Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom