Lust List: May

This month’s Lust List has been completely taken over by one collection from one designer, because it’s just that beautiful! Karolina Laskowska’s new collection, Celestial Bodies, comes in two parts: a mainline, produced by a carefully selected factory, and a couture range, made by Karolina with exquisite fabrics and every ounce of imagination she could muster.

Inspired by the majesty of constellations, this collection was a true labour of love with some of my favourite design work yet. Darkness, opulence and gilding permeate throughout every look. Alongside the first mass produced ranges for the brand (Ara and Carina), couture creations such as ‘Andromeda’ and ‘Lacerta’ utilise techniques such as clustered beading and hand-stitched lace appliqué. Dramatically shaped corsetry and full face hoods lend a decidedly luxe-fetish aesthetic.

As you might imagine, it was pretty hard to select favourites from this! Prices of the lingerie pieces from the mainline range from £45-185, while prices for couture lingerie and corsetry range from £550-£10,000 (with custom sizing available). However, as this monthly feature is an ultimate wishlist, I didn’t let price stand in my way when making my selections.

1) ‘Ara’ wired bra and crossover mesh & lace brief
This may be part of the factory produced part of the collection but there are no compromises on quality, style or fabrics! Karolina has reimagined some of her best-selling shapes in a soft cotton English leavers lace, with striking gold thread floral designs. The Ara range (see image above) is made in Poland to high quality and ethical standards, offering a lower price point without sacrificing the brand’s core values.

2) ‘Cassiopeia’ French lace longline bra and brief
The utterly stunning Cassiopeia longline bra and high-waist brief (see middle image below) are part of the couture collection and made from ultra-luxe metallic French lace which is, because this is Karoline Laskowska, exquisitely pattern cut and matched. The band of this bra style is fully adjustable to fit a range of bodyshapes.

3) ‘Corvus’ bralet and knickers
These made it to the list because I am an absolute sucker for polkadots (see first image below). Especially sheer fabric with opaque polkadots. I don’t know when they’re available yet, as I can only find them on the lookbook section of Karolina’s website, but I’ll be keeping an eye out in the hope that I might be able to afford them!

4) ‘Andromeda’ basque, knickers and cape
Another style not yet available for sale on the website, but this stunning lace basque, cape, kickers and… wait for it… lace stockings can be drooled over in the lookbook. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that making lace stockings is prohibitively expensive, so I don’t think I’ll be finding those available in my size any time soon. The lace is utterly stunning though.

5) ‘Lacerta’ constriction capelet
This dramatic posture capelet (see bottom image below) has echoes of McQueen about it. Offering ‘light restriction and a dramatic shoulder silhouette’ it would be utterly perfect red carpet attire. Karolina describes it as ‘English cotton bobbinet tulle […] layered for a subtly sheer and flexible body, embellished with tumbling hand-stitched metallic leavers lace blossoms. Boned throughout for additional structure.’

To find out more about the collection, head over to Karolina’s website or her blog, Knickerbocker Stories.