After moving to Canada from Paris, Laure Stromboni noticed there was a certain “je ne sais quoi” missing from the country’s lingerie market. Inspired to create pieces that were designed by women, for women rather than something based on the preferences of men, she launched her line Lorette Lingerie in 2017 with the aim of empowering women to embrace their own unique concept of femininity.

“People often have a very narrow view of women’s bodies in lingerie, positioned from comfortable to overly-sexualized,” Stromboni says. “We felt that lingerie is rarely seen as an art form celebrating its wearer in its most intimate way, and Lorette lingerie wishes to change that.”

Drawing from the unique styles of the influential women in her own life like her late grandmother, Stromboni set to work creating lingerie pieces fully embodying qualities like elegance, grace and strength. The goal was to encourage women to tap into their intuitive, romantic sides rather than automatically defaulting to one end of the sexy/comfortable dichotomy.

Completely made in Toronto with 90 per cent of the designs being sourced, designed, embroidered and handcrafted within 50 kilometres of Stromboni’s studio (and the remaining 10 per cent coming straight from Paris), Lorette’s designs are a true community affair involving local female vendors every step of the way.

Stromboni says the personal relationships she has with her vendors helps to imbue each piece with a sense of love and care that simply can’t be replicated.

“It’s so special: from the first sketch I bring to my fabric supplier, to developing the embroideries with a talented duo of mother and daughter, to handcrafting every detail with my seamstresses, we all have the same intention behind it: making something truly special! And I believe you can ‘feel’ those intentions when wearing the products,” Stromboni says.

To learn more about the brand, visit lorettelingerie.com.