10 things to know about our new guest brand, Amoralle
1) Amoralle are, like us, a small independent brand. Unlike us, they mostly focus on robes, gowns and bodies, which regularly feature on bloggers lust lists. You might recognise a few of them!
2) Inese and her team are based in Latvia, the other side of Europe from us. So where our export markets are the USA, Australia, Canada and various bit of the EU - theirs is primarily Russia. We can't export to Russia for toffee, it's almost impossible to navigate the practical issues! Working together makes sense under these circumstances, especially at a time when retailers don't want to take risks on new brands.
3) Speaking of risks, as Lydia will attest, I was convinced that meeting Amoralle was pointless because why on earth would they trust us enough to leave thousands of pounds of stock with us and trust us to look after it and pay? I lost over £4000 of stock that way with a Benelux sales agent/retailer two years ago. But in fact once they knew we used Radius, who have a proper secured, insured warehouse - they were fine. And I can see their point - there's no-one better than you KMD fans for spreading the word about the best lingerie fashion!
Also you will wear the hell out of these things. I just know it :)
4) Countries in Europe vary wildly in lingerie manufacturing skills. The base in the UK is almost totally decimated. But Eastern European countries still have a choice of factories - so many that the Latvian government actually invites UK brands over to meet them (now there's a government working to maintain its industries, create jobs and promote export!). Amoralle capitalises on those skills to make everything in house in small quantities.
5) They started life as SockBox, which is an illustrative story in why you should research your brand name carefully - I noticed them back then because of their glorious stockings - but that name could get you sued for trademark infringement in some countries, and didn't play well in the UK. (Don't ever ask me about how badly Kiss Me Deadly works in some countries, it makes me cry).
6) Apparently, whilst in Western Europe luxury is pure silk, over in Latvia, practically minded types disapprove of such a high maintenance fabric. As someone who can barely hold an iron and hates steaming, I am SO down with this. Amoralle use silk/elastane/synthetic mixes instead - all the lustre and softness, none of the time consuming labour for you! This also means that you can get a billowing gown or flowing full length robe for £100-£200, rather than the £300-£600 you might expect for full silk these days.
7) Some of the garments use Leavers Lace - the closest machine-made lace to hand-made, designed it to be as close as possible to original lace designs, using antique machinery that means you have to handclip and finish the lace. Have you ever seen how lace was originally made? It's insanely complicated!
8) I dislike even hints of beige. I am slightly bigger than the L. I shouldn't really wear bodies. And yet, still I yearn for this garment. Such is the power of Amoralle!
9) Speaking of sizing, we're going to be working on getting more product specific tips in regards to that, but also, Amoralle would very much like your feedback as they know, like we do, that different groups of people have different sizing needs. If you're wondering why the size range is limited, well, that's to do with the economics of tiny businesses again. Like us and pretty much everyone we speak to, they find that most of their customers can wear one of 3 sizes, whilst the rest are spread out over twice that many, Thus, it makes more sense to do multiple ranges in a limited size range than to do just a few in a larger size range. But they are happy to look at doing at least one extra size for us if there's demand.
10) LACE GLOVES. I seem to recall a few of you lusting after such a thing when Dita Von Teese released them. So there you go :)
Which is your favourite Amoralle item? What would you like to see from them on KMD? Let me know in the comments!
