la fille d’O (meaning daughter of ‘o) is the voice of a generation. in 2003 i, murielle victorine scherre, felt the need to create an aspirational role model. my own shameless eve, a powerhouse moulded after the people who have personally inspired me. the past is filled with humans who elevate living in to art. i wanted to tune in to that frequency of wisdom. to grow from there, as a woman, mother and maker. i missed such a savoir vivre and kindredness in both media and fashion. no better place to start a revolution than in our pants.
la fille d’O started as a lingerie brand but has become somewhat of a religion. as a woman i felt unheimlich when looking at ‘modern’ lingerie and women in media who were presented to me as role models. this image of the woman felt very out of date and uninteresting for such an innovative business. i myself find true inspiration, one that satisfies my hunger, with the people surrounding me: intelligent gems driven by their curiosity and lust for life. you don’t see them in mainstream media. i didn’t long for vague instructions from a religious point of view. i was looking for a guiding light held by humans who have lived truly and deeply. by sharing their stories i hope other people will find the courage to throw off that heavy shell of doubt and shame. la fille d’O is a safe haven where you’re invited to develop your true self. the stories of these people are an inspiration, not a dogma. it’s a sea of possibility that nourishes me and captivates me. where i literally support people in their ongoing work and life so they can write new stories for the next generations to come. this love for the story behind the human is my pencil when i design. i love to create the subtlest of interventions. i add only what is needed, out of respect for the pure beauty the human body already offers. i work with the wide spectrum of beauty. with the differences that make us unique within humanity, which brings us together.
la fille d’O is avant-garde lingerie that supports your body, whilst empowering your frequency. without compromises and therefore all-embracing. like a friend once described it: ‘i am not fierce, yet i belong here’.
what are you doing to make things better?
at la fille d’O i make what i want to wear but can’t find: lingerie and swimwear and outerwear that others can’t, won’t or daren’t make. all my designs need to surprise and support me. and i want every garment i make to be guilt-free, supporting both maker and user, both our personal as our shared environment. and i want to show you what i make, worn by people i love. yes, this means they are photoshop-free.
design
our designs are built to last. lycra normally has a 6 month life expectation but the way our designs are crafted, we can considerably postpone the sudden death of your favorite items. we even offer a repair service that will resuscitate your beloved undies as long as you like. our signature easy sizing and adjustable contour straps allow you to anticipate the normal wear of your lycra items and keep them well fitted longer than normal.
our designs don’t follow the hype. i create looks that are as timeless as possible and will work with most wardrobe styles, so they can support humans from a diverse number of sub- and other cultures during a diverse number of phases in their lives.
slow fashion doesn’t mean a thing if it can’t be worn for a very long time. i use very little color so you get to wear it with most of your wardrobe. this allows you to keep a small and versatile underwear drawer, no longer in need to buy a lot and thus inspired to buy better.
our designs are built with an eye on retouching, should you be in need of special sizing or adjustments. our designs might look complex but since we build them ourselves it is quite easy for us to consider alterations while dreaming them up.
most of our designs can be adjusted to your specific needs, for example when you are recovering from breast- or other surgery. do ask us for an appointment so we can learn what you are looking for and how we can meet your needs.
i love to be in your pants for as long as i can, so yes: we aim to be your favorite one-life stand. this means we are very open about who we are, so you get to know us a little and a lot better.
fast fashion brands drop about 50 collections a year. i abandoned the idea of seasons ànd collections all together. does this mean i am lazy? no, it means i highly value my energy and the energy of everything that surrounds me. i hate to see a good thing go to waste so i think before i make. this means i don’t design things no one will want. this means less unwanted stuff ends up in land fill.
i don’t do trends. it means you will grow tired of our product way too soon. the only meta-trend that keeps inspiring me is my deep love for the human body, and how i get to support it as good as i can.
in circular economy, waste is the byproduct of bad design. the samples we make during the development of a new designs are not thrown away, but we sell them during our sample sales. these products may not fit everybody and thus are not fit for actual production, but during the sample sale we do give you the opportunity to find a bra that will fit only you. this means 1 more item saved from going to waste. this means 1 more person wearing a fair product and an honest smile.
normal production process produces about 30% overstock. garments that never find a new owner. this organized make of waste is utterly silly. we try to keep our stock limited so every garment finds a new owner as soon as possible.
a product has two expiry dates, they say. when it falls apart or when you don’t want it anymore. i try to make our products so good and our story so inspiring you will want to wear our product, even when it has began to fall apart. then we will repair it for you, so you get to wear it some more.
when designing i think about our heritage as lingeriemakers and i think about YOU, modern womxn of today. i think about what we can make and i think about what you need. then my brain merges both and i make something that has not been made before. because we are smarter now then ever before. because our needs now are different to before. but it is a humbling thing to see where we are coming from and what our hands are capable of making.
production
ohw production! talk about the butterfly effect of tiny clapping wings and the blizzard they can cause. since our start in 2003 we have been producing in the tiny factory with the blue door, called Quality Consult, in Kemmel, Belgium. this means there are no fair trade labels involved. this means this is the fairest trade: it’s business you do with local neighbors. this means we are fast as fuck and we can easily control no foul play is happening during our production process. it also means we know all our seamstresses by name because we see them every week and they have the same wages as us and the same medical insurance. they even get as little sun as we do because we all work and live here in our beloved rainy Belgium. a local production means investing in your local community and its wellbeing. it also means lower cost in transport and CO2 footprint and faster communication and thus efficiency so we can cut excess costs from our product’s retail price and save the environment from the pressure any production process causes.
we like to know what goes under our clothes and on our skin so we also keep our sourcing local and sustainable. we only work with Oeko-Tex certified supplies so no toxic dyes or coatings near our products or your skin. we love working with local family run businesses because they seem to be the ones creating all the most modern and surprising new fabrics. they are sustainable at heart because family owned businesses tend to think about the future rather than their wallet more. they also have a certain madness in their hearts and i love to surround myself with this kind of heritage savoir faire and obsessive motivation. 90% of our fabrics are made in Belgium. The other 10% are our cottons, which are made in Austria and our silk is made in France. i feel so lucky to have all these smart suppliers close by and working with them since 2003 now is my homage to them and their legacy.
it is important to me that we keep design, production and consumption closely intertwined because a local production means a lived and thus loved production. it is well rooted in the community and i like it like that. offshore productions can be up to 50 (!) times cheaper but the logistic and environmental cost is very high. at the moment it is impossible for a fair brand to compete with offshore productions because we are playing the same game but with a different set of rules. so yes, we are more expensive. but not only do we create jobs here, we also keep craftsmanship alive, before it is threatened to cave in under the growing pressure of fast and cheap product cravings. a local production can definitely turn the tide. slowly but surely. to grow healthy roots is always a smart thing when thinking sustainably and eco-logically.
when making something it means breaking something. during our process we tend to avoid the creation of waste of resources such as our precious fabrics. even though this is inevitable, we get creative even in this part of the process. seams are placed to make fabric consumption as efficient as possible and thus create as little waste as possible. did you know we sometimes let the size of the fabric define the length of our garment or the width of our sleeves compared to the body. we do this not because we are mad but because in a playful way, it avoids waste without affecting the garments design or quality. plus it shows that creativity is hidden everywhere.
resources
yes, polyester is made from petroleum but when looking for fabrics we don’t use just any polyester. i want the best stuff. and ours is just that. it is Oeko-Tex certified and made in Belgium at Liebaert in Deinze and the longevity is surprisingly good for a fibre that has a predicted life span of 6 months. sometimes we see customers with items they have worn over 10 years! polyester is also 100% recyclable so please use recycling programs when you want to discard of your old items. we do not use coatings or bonding of materials so it is easy to recognize for recycling. polyester is very easy to clean and quick to dry so you’ll be using less detergent and no dryer because this fibre dries fast to the open air. a perfect and light weight traveling companion, i’d say! try and use a washing net like GUPPY FRIEND for it helps to prevent microplastics released during washing to end up in the ocean waters and ecosystems. the devil is in the detail indeed.
end of life
so you have gathered a great many good memories whilst wearing our product but now its shoulderstraps have died a little and you think it is time to move on? before you want to throw your old undies in the dumpster, w-w-wait a while: come see me! did you know we have our own la fille d’O repair service? because yes, sometimes we can bring your undies back to life, so you get to make more memories in them.
if you haven’t worn your stuff all that much or you changed size since you bought them: consider swishing them with a friend or re-selling them to a new owner. get in touch if you are looking to resell your unused lingerie.
also consider more modern ways of recycling your old gear: sites like packmee.nl allow you to send your stuff to them so they can resell it and the profit of that sale go to a good cause of your choice.
consumption
do you plan your wardrobe? please do. unless you like to get overwhelmed by your belongings at some point. when i design products for our la fille d’O collection i want them to be and/and. i want to wear them as lingerie and swimwear and i want them to be smart so they can also function as solutionwear ànd shapewear ànd ànd ànd. why not? it feels nice to wear one outfit in the morning and know i can take it to the beach and the bar and the office and the bed should i want to. i also design with mix and match wear in mind so you can keep your items on heavy rotation. i believe in afterlife but i do not believe in keeping your best underwear for a special occasion. everyday day should be considered a special day and i want to be dressed for it.
so you want to wear our products for as long as you can and like? here is how: you wash them a lot. by machine. using a little bit of bio-degradable detergent like marcel’s green soap or dr. bronner. and you hang them out to dry. machine washing removes our sweat and care products from the garment in the most efficient ways, using as little detergent as possible. this prolongs the life of your item. not using a dryer is better for the lycra fibers, that otherwise get killed by the heat of the dryer, plus it saves energy.
wear your sets alternately so the fibre gets time to restore itself in between wears. it considerably elongates the lifespan of your favorite items. it is also better for your body to often swap garments and shoes, in order to avoid constant pressure on your lymphatic system.
when buying consider maslow’s hierarchy of needs or this adaptation by sarah lazarovic:
buy
make
thrift
swap
borrow
use what u have
systems thinking
in order to protect our production chain from evil forces, we know EVERYONE involved. by name. this is important to us because it allows us to keep a good eye on everything that happens during the make of the products that soon will be on your skin. this also allows us to find better solutions should any problem present itself to us. this also means we have a thorough understanding of the production process. which means we can make it as efficient as humanly possible. you can ask us anything about our production process, really. who knows, we might even think of something we can improve.
it is easy (and very inefficient) to sit around and wait for change to begin. over the last 18 years i have learned this: do it. now. fail. fail better. don’t sit around and wait for someone to take the lead. even if you don’t know what the hell you are doing, do it anyway. you will figure it out along the line. if you are not happy with the system: change it. 18 years ago there were a whole bunch of things i had to do if i wanted to see myself as a professional brand. turns out none of these things are important. not today. and probably not tomorrow either. i do not have a press agent. or a sales agent. we don’t do tradeshows. i don’t even see the point of seasonal collections. all these structures create a so called infinite growth but i do not want that. i want to be the best size needed to be operational and smooth, so we can serve our customers right and make them happy with a great product. we are now a 7 woman team and we handle things perfectly well, thank you very much. don’t wait for the system to change. build your own.
i think it is important to show how you fail. so others can learn from your mistakes. this allows us all to grow better and smarter. so ask me anything. i have probably fucked it up in the past.
yes, our offices are green. we use clean energy and have well isolated buildings and we recycle our waste and we eat organic vegan food and our interiors are composed in reflection of the hunters ’n gatherers us women really are: from vintage design and other trouvailles that help us create great designs for you. when creating packaging for our product we prefer to choose re-usable options like tote-bags or drawstring bags that can be repurposed for a zillion things. just because we can and it makes sense, damnit.
you probably have heard about CSR or corporate social responsibility, where companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business DNA and interactions with their stakeholders on voluntary basis. to us, this is the only way to do business. for money is a means to make everyone in the community better and not just a few. money or profit is and should not be the goal when running a business. our goal is to make a product that has maximum impact on the lives of its users and minimum impact on the environment we call our home. we have but one home. let’s celebrate its magic.