Intimately 'Yours'

As creative director at Agent Provocateur, the London-based luxury lingerie label, Sarah Shotton tells us about female empowerment, haute erotica, and the politics of underwear.

- Duhin Ganju

Agent Provocateur, makers of fashion’s fiercest body armour for the past 24 years, have combined shock-value with craftsmanship to create apparel for women who embody the femme fatale aesthetic. Founded in 1994 by Vivienne Westwood’s son Joe Corré and Serena Rees—with the original kink shop at London’s Broadwick Street—the brand has been synonymous for creating lingerie which is a beguiling mix of soft-focus glamour and cosy approachability. Back in the ’90s, with only Ann Summers and Marks & Spencer offering everyday innerwear, they [Corré and Rees] created something revolutionary in the United Kingdom. Today, headed by creative director SarahShotton, Agent Provocateur has become every woman’s best friend. With her vivacious personality, 43-year-old Shotton seems to embody everything the brand stands (and has stood) for: A woman in charge. Since joining the brand in 1999 as a shop assistant to becoming its creative director in 2010, Shotton has done it all. She understands different aspects of the business and what customers want, which makes her more socially aware. But Shotton’s interest in fashion sparked at a very young age when she noticed little girls runnin