Agent Provocateur is a British lingerie retailer founded in 1994 by Joseph Corré and Serena Rees. The company has stores in 13 countries.

History

1994–2007

In 1994, Agent Provocateur was founded by Joseph Corré, the son of Vivienne Westwood, and his then-wife Serena Rees. The first store opened in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

Broadwick Street Broadwick Street (formerly Broad Street) is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It runs for 0.18 miles (0.29 km) approximately west–east between Marshall Street and Wardour Street, crossing Berwick Street. The street extends a ...

. The company sells colourful and fashionable lingerie Joseph Corré is the designer for the brand.

2007–2017

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

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

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: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

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

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film), Hedwig and t ...

-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 Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

riding a velvet bucking bronco while wearing the company's underwear to prove that their lingerie brand is the most erotic according to the male viewers. 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 on '' Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers' ...

directed a short film for Agent Provocateur starring model

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her t ...

. Other models have included actress

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal ( , ; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gylle ...

in 2007, British model Daisy Lowe in 2008, 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 to front their Valentine's Day campaign, entitled "A Love Letter To Myself".

Logo and wordmark

The original Agent Provocateur logo and

wordmark A wordmark or word mark is a text-only statement of the name of a product, service, company, organization, or institution which is used for purposes of identification and branding. A wordmark can be an actual word (e.g., Apple), a made-up term ...

were set from an existing over-the-counter typeface. As Corré’s venture grew, graphic design company

House Industries House Industries is a type foundry and design studio based in Yorklyn, Delaware. The company was created in the 1990s in Wilmington, Delaware by co-founders Andy Cruz and Rich Roat. The company is best known for its typeface creations, which have ...

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 adve ...

for "being degrading to women." Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

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. Agent Provocateur said that the stores are "operated by franchisees under franchise/license agreements" according to "a system established by the previous owner of the business, many years ago" and that the company itself "does not 'operate' in Russia."

References

External links

{{Authority control Frasers Group 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 British companies established in 1994