Designing Peek & Beau - by Emma

Peek & Beau started off when we at Playful Promises recognized a gap in the market for alternative lingerie. The popularity of our Magdalene set with its kitsch, tongue-in-cheek naughtiness sparked this idea for me to create a mini-brand that encapsulated this darker side of Playful Promises.

Many of the Playful Promises customers are somewhat led by alternative fashion, so creating a line specifically for this audience was a natural transition from our usual feminine flirtatiousness into an edgier - but still as quirky - range. Myself being somebody who crosses from mainstream fashion into counter-culture, I also wanted to create products that people like me would want to wear.

‘Attire to flaunt’ being the tagline for the Peek & Beau line was also very important, as we noticed an influx of alternative fashion and using lingerie as outerwear, so designs that lent themselves to this way of styling was paramount to the design process.

Peek & Beau is heavily influenced by the macabre; tarot, the occult, religious iconography, horror B-movies, gothic architecture and retro fetishism. We often look to couture designers that use similar inspirations such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Iris Van Herpen and Givenchy, as well as photographers such as Tim Walker, Nick Knight, Mert & Marcus, and Paolo Roversi.

For the 2016 collection, we went to LA to shoot with alternative model Demon Puff AKA Tilly Dinmore. Tilly encapsulated everything we wanted the mini brand to represent – somebody who follows alternative fashion, is quirky and cute, and is also influenced by retro fashion, just like we are at Playful Promises. 

Look out for more from this collection in August, but in the meantime, you can shop these new looks at www.playfulpromises.com!