La Perla showcases renewed menswear, ahead of debut store opening

Italian luxury lingerie label, La Perla is preparing to relaunch its menswear line at the upcoming trade fair Pitti Uomo, in Florence, ahead of the opening of its first standalone menswear store in London. The new concept for La Perla's men's lounge wear and beach wear will be showcased

alongside its Spring/Summer 2015 collection during a runway show on Thursday, June 19 at the trade fairs 86th edition. Prices for the collection are set to range from 90 pounds for swimming trunks to 350 for a silk robe.

Renewed menswear line “inspired by the submarine world”

The 31 piece collection is said to feature more sophisticated and detailed garments, such as silk robes, kimonos, oversize bottoms, in a series of high quality fabrics and materials based on the women's wear collection but “from a male point of view”.

Emiliano Rinaldi, who was tapped by the label earlier this year as creative director, was in charge of the menswear reintroduction. His inspiration for the new collection is said to be “inspired by the submarine world,” which led to the design of a print based on the work of Italian artist Piero Fornasetti; a winged oyster that guards a pearl transformed into a mysterious eye.

“In the past, our menswear has been confined to an offering of underwear or T-shirts in really fine fabrics, but it hasn't ever been reminiscent of sportswear,” commented Suzy Biszantz, La Perla’s Chief Executive Officer of North America, to the Daily. “There will be a runway collection in addition to a main collection, which is a bit more commercial and will be launching in our boutiques in Spring 2015."

“It’s a really exciting evolution of the brand. The men’s collection has basically always been a part of the brand. When La Perla was developed in Italy through the original owners, they branched it out to include a number of different categories: they had men’s, jeans, and a full ready-to-wear collection,” added Biszantz. The relaunch of the collection comes ahead of the opening of La Perla's first menswear only store on Mount Street, in Mayfair, London.

La Perla Homme store in Mayfair set to open in 2015

The debut store is set to open May 2015, before the opening of three other menswear dedicated stores in Milan, Paris and Geneva. The store concept for the first La Perla Homme store will also be designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, who designed the store's interior for La Perla's womenswear store on Sloane Street. The Italian luxury label aims to renovate a number of existing store to include larger menswear areas, including location in Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona.

La Perla aims to increase its menswear sales from 10 percent of its total sales, which are predicted to hit 89.6 million pounds this year, to account for 30 percent over the next three years. “There was a real gap in the market for this kind of apparel for men,” said Joëlle Pellegrin, managing director of Europe for La Perla, to Drapers.

“The men’s underwear market is growing and we want to tap into that, as well as revolutionising the way men dress at home.”

Photos: La Perla store on Sloane Street, preview of La Perla relaunched menswear line.