Lingerie for the “artful” seductress: Made By Noemi S/S 09

In previous posts I often tried to discover "arty" inspirations in fashion collections, but I never thought I could have found a link between art and lingerie. Well, that is until today. Made By Noemi's Spring/Summer 09 collection has finally allowed me to spot a first connection between the two.

Noemi Ivanova, the lingerie designer behind Swedish label Made By Noemi, has indeed created a new line inspired by Edward Hopper.

As she states on her site, Ivanova was inspired by “the stark shadows, clear colours and poignant lines” of the American painter, famous for his landscapes and cityscapes that often convey a sense of alienation and loneliness.

Ivanova explained me that no particular painting informed her brand new lingerie collection, it was more the atmosphere in the paintings that influenced her designs. “I’ve always loved Hopper's work and always been amazed by how he presented the characters in his works: no matter how big or small they are painted, they are never the protagonists and yet they're not passive," she told me via email. "The women are not exceptional, but at the same time they're not accessories, they are just plain, simple and beautiful."

Made By Noemi’s S/S 09 collection features three main lines for men and women – “Bone”, “Pigeon” and “Plum” – plus a further line for women, “Icy”, apart from the usual base collection that includes plain and functional everyday lingerie.

The new collection offers a wide choice and features bras and pants in satin and cotton, bodies in grey cotton and lace, plum jersey gowns and versatile scarves in light pastel colours or printed with water painted patterns. The colour palette of the new collection was taken from the shadows in Hopper’s paintings and from his grey, ice blue, pear and plum nuances.

The best pieces are the ones in cotton and lace and, for all those men out there who like to dare, there is also a lace vest of the kind that will easily be accidentally stolen by many girlfriends. There are subtle Hopper references also in the swimwear collection that includes swimsuits and bikinis with ruffle skirts in beautiful shades of grey.

Shots for the new collection were taken by Swedish photographer Ceen Wahren who managed to give the images a special 40s vibe. You can see the new advertising campaign on Made by Noemi's site while you can keep updated about Ivanova's designs by visiting her blog.

So has Made By Noemi set the tone for a new trend, art-inspired lingerie? Who knows. What I certainly know is that Ivanova's first experiment at fusing art with lingerie was quite successful.