pillowbook: body-positive, sustainable and couture lingerie from the modern east

Irene Lu is the founder and designer of hand made custom pillowcases
Underwear studio in Beijing, China.
Lu creates body
Active, luxurious intimate clothing, designed to be of real size, rather than being prey to unrealistic standards for most consumers
Cater to fashion trends.
In a world of one-time fashion, pillowcases bring exquisite details, craftsmanship and cultural relevance back to underwear, designed to improve women\'s self-esteem by doing so.
Dressed in her own design.
Portrait of Henry Bedue MW: can you tell me a little bit about your background?
You grew up in Taipei, went to school in New York, and did business in Beijing.
My parents are Taiwanese. I was born in New York.
I grew up in Taiwan and studied private clothing at the New York Institute of Fashion Technology.
When I was 23 years old, I thought about the idea behind the pillowcase book, but it didn\'t launch until 5 years later.
I still remember drawing the logo on the black Moleskin pad and showing it to you at the beauty counter! About the logo!
I think you will understand that. . .
At first glance, it is a flower, but with a little imagination, it is like a sexy crack in the chest, hip or woman.
The small drop of nectar from the flower, you will understand. . .
Q: What made you decide to go back to China to start a business?
In 2009, a production designer in China offered me a job as a clothing manager.
I almost bought the next flight to Beijing because who wouldn\'t work with the Oscar winner?
It was a very intense learning experience, but a few years later I resigned and was with my sister in Taiwan.
She is receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer, which is hard.
It is this kind of environment that reminds me that anything will happen tomorrow, and that makes me push the leap forward.
There is also a very sexy French waiting for me in Beijing, which is also very helpful.
MW: What is a pillowcase for those who have never heard of a pillowcase? Who made them? Who had them?
What is their purpose?
As we all know, \"Kamacha Sutra\" and \"Shunga\", but few people have heard of the Chinese version.
Even the Chinese don\'t know!
Contrary to the popular view, the purpose of each version is not just sexual stimulation.
India\'s Kama Sutra is based on the principle of tantric nature and finds spirituality through long-term ecstasy.
It also teaches the importance of equal participation (
Friend, we all know how to give but don\'t accept it? )
Practice multiple poses to stimulate and benefit the whole body (
So it\'s not just missionaries every time)
During the battle, Japan was placed in ar fish and boxes as a amulet.
When they walk around with them, they are also popular with women, hiding naughty erotic scrolls in the kimono.
Many shunjia painters (
Usually from elite art school)
Commissioned by the textile company on their most exquisite fabric, painted layers on kimono robes, depicting lovers.
In the east, sex is considered to be more positive than in the West, so at some point many of these items are considered respectable and highly collectible art.
Pillow books in China were originally used for young brides.
Mostly teenagers)
To guide them on their wedding night.
The Pillow Book is equivalent to sex education because public discussion on this topic is not encouraged.
The pillowcase has paintings, scrolls, sculptures and carved wood or bamboo. All were palm-
Small enough to hide under the pillow.
The concept inspired pillowcases to encourage and empower women by exploring adventurous sex.
Matjaz TancicMW\'s photo: What is the feeling of female business owners doing hand-made bespoke intimate clothing in China?
Is this something you can open up to everyone, or is it considered shameful?
IL: as a woman in the underwear industry, it is an advantage in the accessories industry.
As a foreigner
Enterprises owned in China have their own limitations, such multilingual and cultural barriers.
Building an intimate clothing brand in China is nothing new, because more than 70-
80% of the world\'s close-fitting garments are made in China.
The custom-made part did attract attention because there was a lot of speculation about Chinese consumers in the first place.
Fortunately, so far they have matured and attitudes have changed dramatically almost overnight. Well-
Educated Chinese consumers really care about quality and meaning.
They are tired of the gorgeous logo and are aware of the impact of fast fashion.
To express individualism, of course, it is common to ask for customization in order to improve the prestige of the luxury experience.
MW: where do most of your customers come from?
Many of them are single, white.
Chinese white-collar women travel and educate well between the ages of 20 and 30.
French buyers account for 95% of Western buyers.
My first customer was a woman in her 60 s born and raised in Beijing.
She bought a Doodle (
Traditional Chinese underwear
Because she wants to experience a part of her culture that was abolished by previous generations.
That night, she immediately changed into new movie dating supplies.
It is difficult to forget her;
She giggled for 13 years.
The old girl with beautiful eyebrows!
These are my favorite customers who buy doodle as a gesture of cultural pride, adding profound personal value to every piece of work.
MW: How do you see underwear as a tool for empowering women?
IL: there is a very unhealthy beauty standard in Asia, that is, women only need to have DD breasts and Mt.
Everest cleavage
Because for the average 99-year-old Asian, this is not common in biology.
The bra with 9% is padded.
I \'ve seen bras with 3 extra plug-ins for each cup and a molded padded bra!
The bra we choose to wear is closely related to the way we perceive ourselves.
Similarly, the underwear on the shelves also meets the expectations of the society unconsciously.
So I promise never to design a chest \"enhanced\" bra so that a woman can avoid defining her value with the size of her chest.
That\'s why I\'m obsessed with doodle.
In order to be modest, it was initially worn very tightly to flatten the breast.
When Western forces replaced it with the bra we know today, the delicate beeps with such a rich cultural history turned into cheap souvenirs almost overnight.
This inspired me to modernize the old cultural traditions and bring them back to the contemporary wardrobe.
I have built a size system for the bigger depression because it was originally a small size for all.
I have adjusted the fit so that it can free up the breast without leveling.
It\'s a really forgiving cut that fits anyone and, most importantly, it\'s very comfortable.
I never wanted to take it off as quickly as I did with tight underwear.
I don\'t want to sound like a saleswoman, but doodle has replaced all my bras with honesty. freethenipple!
By the way, it\'s not surprising that doodle is not taught by Western underwear courses when the industry is still European-centric.
MW: Tell me the process of the custom order, the materials used, the time. . .
IL: each series is seen as a erotic story, and I think it\'s my intuition when I used to be a costume designer for film and drama.
Underwear designers usually focus on the chest, and the story of look books is only thought of afterwards.
The opposite is true to me;
There is always a visual storyboard that is usually inspired from the trip and rummaged in my mind while I was designing.
I attach great importance to the beauty of every corner of the woman\'s body.
For me, the collarbone, hip wings, nape are more sexy than the deep cleavage.
Then the actual product development, the most time invested.
The execution of quality, detail and completion is my value (annoyingly)finicky about.
Because of this, I have no pressure to create 2-
According to industry expectations, there are 4 collections per year.
In fact, this production speed is not friendly to the environment, and under this pressure, original ideas rarely flourish.
100% of silk comes from Hangzhou.
Some of the smaller parts come from the local market, but the bronze and gold-plated sling clips are imported from France.
To minimize waste, every order is-to-
Let customers experience customizing their products.
It\'s really incredible to see unexpected color combinations, and none of the two have been the same so far.
It shows the real difference for everyone!
Each piece is handmade by a customer, so it usually takes more than half a day for a bralet to 1.
Casual pants for 5 days.
All our leftovers are always
Cycling has made a matching underwear bag and gift for customers.
All this magic is happening in our little studio so I can find any mistakes.
To redefine stereotypes, our label says: \"Made in China with pride\" and signed by the designer himself.
When it comes to silk scraps. .
I don\'t want to throw away any 100% wire scrap, so there\'s enough to create a complete one after two years
Cycle Collection.
It will be so colorful!
You can read more about pillowcases and Lu\'s works.