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December 1998

Barbara Barker is a freelance writer living in Madrid. She writes for Fairchild Publications and Departures Magazine.

Featured this month:
Spain’s Hot Lingerie Stores – and
Sellers
| ¡Oh que luna | Janina |

Madrid – "I’m convinced our future is not in Spain; the U.S. is our sitio (place)," said Pilar Barreiro, owner/designer of ¡Oh que luna, a 5-store Spanish chain featuring plush drop-dead lounging robes, peignoir sets and sleepwear. For a relative newcomer – 3 years – to the rigors of exporting, ¡Oh que luna has found a niche mainly because "American buyers really like my product; it’s well-understood in the U.S." In addition, she exports the brand to Italy, France, Canada and the Arab Emirates.

At present, U.S. customers include Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and a handful of small specialty stores, Barreiro confirmed. Currently in its first season with ¡Oh que luna (means Oh what a moon), Neiman Marcus picked up on a terrific series of pared-down silky-soft gowns and coverups in seafoam green, a long polyester robe with delicate tulle detailing, for example, tulle bed-jacket and a double-layered Grecian column with front draping. The range also includes short babydoll versions with an ombré effect or flounced tulle hem.

Other hot colors are terracotta and heavy cream, she said, adding that items in this grouping are meant to be mixed and matched. Retail prices in Spain range from US$55 to US$135.

Barreiro’s show-stoppers, and her personal favorites, are the luxurious Jean Harlow lounging robes in panne velvet, rustic raffia-like silk and shimmer fabrics with real or faux-fur trims and French lace. "I have a customer in Barcelona who bought the whole collection, one of everything. She said it was better than going back to her psychiatrist."

One of the prettiest coordinates is a marbleized velvet robe in iridescent browns/gunmetal gray with mink-like collar and cuffs, and matching slim-lined gown, priced at US$515 and US$280 respectively.

Another best-seller is a basic cotton sleep line – gowns, robes, pajamas – in a figurative toile de Jouy print. Key factor here is comfort, Barreiro said. Also the cheapest line in the store, it sells from US$70-US$85. She points out tidy inner seams and stitched-down cuffs. "Nobody does quality better than we do."

¡Oh que luna’s 12-year-old Madrid flagship is located in the Spanish capital’s toniest retail neighborhood (called Salamanca), a 150-sq.-meter corner locale with 100 sq.-meters of selling space, floor-to-ceiling alcove-like window displays and shelving units with neat stacks of hand-embroidered bed and table linens and deluxe sofa throws.

Barreiro said she plans a sixth store in Granada for April 1999 (current units are 3 in Madrid, 1 each in Barcelona and Valencia) and in January, she will exhibit for the fourth year at Paris’ Salon International de la Lingerie.

A robe from
¡Oh que luna. 

Sleepwear from
¡Oh que luna.

¡Oh que luna
on the catwalk.

JANINA

Barcelona - "Italian women are adventurous, red bra and red panties for example, the French, impeccable, black or bottle green and matching. Spanish women dress at Loewe and underneath, an old white bra and black panties but it’s a cultural reference because 15 years ago, there was nothing here at the retail level. I remember heavy materials and thick constructions, like armor. Spain’s lingerie offering has turned around 360º," said Janina Teres, 29, 3^rd-generation managing director of Janina, an upscale multi-brand lingerie/swimwear store.

Today, Janina sells exclusive private label items in new microfibers and high-end designer brands which contribute to a solid foundations business (35% of sales) driven by bras. "We are specialists in bras. My grandmother, Joana Santacana, started Janina fifty years ago making bras by hand." There are no more custom-made foundations though "because today’s market offers everything."

Ninety percent of the category is coordinated bra and panty sets, she said, mostly French and Italian imports, along with Spanish manufacturers Andrés Sardá, "Spain’s number one bra maker" and Vives Vidal, VF Boutique’s Spanish subsidiary. Hot colors are gray, deep wine, navy, green and a natural flesh tone.

In sleepwear, top performers are long and short gowns with matching robes and jackets, often with double layers and the barest back, in a fashion-conscious palette of prune, gray and lilac. Key brands include La Perla and Malizia, Verdeveronica, Vivis, Givenchy, Neyiret, Moschino and Donna Karan. Prices range from US$105-US$285.

An unexpected sell, Janina said, is a long gold nightgown with floral appliqués in purple Chantilly lace by Belgium’s Carin Gilson. "It’s minimalismo total and perfect for the street." Retail tag about US$430.

Product selection is based on the garment’s quality and fashion, "a little intuition and a lot of luck." She scouts major European fairs (Paris, Lyon, Bologne) and showrooms abroad. (She is currently in New York.)

"I love the way Americans buy; they’re crazy, so enthusiastic, everything is WOW."

Janina’s 130-sq.-meter flagship store on the commercially hopping Rambla de Cataluña is light and bright with glass-topped beech wood working tables and travertine-beige marble flooring. Annual turnover is roughly US$1.1 million (150 million pesetas). There are two additional stores in Barcelona.