Editor's letter – a special mission
As soon as I walked into the library of the magnificent English country house, I knew: this is where I wanted to shoot model Aneta for the cover of our Sisterhood of Spies issue. Not in a seedy cocktail bar or a dark alley, but here, surrounded by hundreds of books. Not very exciting, you say? Oh, but I disagree! There is a saying I love and live by: 'women who read are dangerous'. The female spies we celebrate this season, from Cleopatra to modern-day Anna Chapman, all realized: knowledge is power. Their business? Obtaining important, secret information, by any means necessary. I may never have jumped from a helicopter to steal state secrets, but as a working-class girl, destined to become a housewife, I did something equally dangerous. I read.
To research female spies, you have to become a spy yourself. It has to do with the secretive nature of a spy's job, of course, but also with the fact that women's stories have systematically been erased from history. During her quest to uncover the voices of 17th-century female 'invisible agents', literary historian Nadine Akkerman became a spymistress, learning secret code and discovering long-buried scandals. Her greatest insight? That even today, we can learn a lot from the way these 'she-intelligencers' took advantage of women's social invisibility. "Instead of complaining, they just got on with it," she told me. "And often, they would win."
As long as I can remember, I've been in love with the unapologetically feminine looks of the female spy - from Emma Peel's slinky leather catsuit to Christine Granville's dagger-carrying garter belt. Incredibly inspiring for me as a lingerie designer, as you can see on these pages. But where would a superspy be without her clever, life-saving gadgets? My inner nerd had a lot of fun integrating one in this season's 'Spymistress' couture collection (can you spot the multi-purpose carabiner?). And I didn't stop there.
One of my favorite she-spy tools is the lipstick pistol, which became a symbol for women's emancipation in a different incarnation: the lipstick vibrator. Not surprisingly, since sexual confidence is one of woman's most lethal weapons. Which got me thinking: why hadn't I designed a sex toy yet? Well, fast-forward a few months, and I can now proudly present my 'Undercover Lover', a gorgeous, remote-controlled panty vibrator. Beautifully tying in with our spy theme, this is more than a toy. It's an invitation to live out your secret fantasies, perfectly matching this season's extra-spicy panties and suspenders. (Check out the sizzling cutouts and surprise openings gracing the bottoms of my 'Cypher' and 'Suspensia' collections.)
How exploring your hidden desires can change your life, I explain in my how-to article 'A spy in the secret corners of your soul'. My library of 1001 secret fantasies, for example, is where my collections are born; it's where I empower myself. I strongly believe that every woman should build this kind of sanctuary of dreams, so that she can start manifesting the life of her dreams.
During the shoot, I think about these things while stunning Aneta is posing for me in the English library room. Surrounded by 'dangerous weapons', aka books, she is dressed to kill in my Spymistress collection, exuding beauty and the kind of power that can only come from self-knowledge. Welcome to a thrilling season filled with secrets and spies. Will you join me on this special mission? Dare to become a dangerous woman!
