Melanie Talkington has become an international corset sensation since opening Lace Embrace Atelier in 1997 — and now, she's bringing her old-school brand of laced-up sexy to the book world.
Somewhere between supplying costumes to Hollywood productions, contributing dozens of corsets to an exhibition at the Louvres Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and selling sexy laced pieces to Vancouver women (and a few men) through her East 16th boutique, Talkington found the time this year to author a book.
Entitled A Provocative Look at Intimate Apparel: Antique Corsets and Vintage Lingerie 1880-1960, the 52-page book features full-colour photographs of treasured items from Talkington's world-renowned collection (the largest of its kind on the planet).
"It's fun to look at [underwear] from a provocative perspective," said Talkington during a recent phone interview in advance of the book's November 4 release. "One of my favourite pieces in there is my 1940s black bra that has satin hands over the lace. It looks like someone's cupping your breasts."
The images of corsets, brassieres, knickers, garters and stockings (all of which were shot by Talkington's partner, Homeros Gilani) are accompanied by translations of titillating erotica that first ran in 19th century French fetish catalogues (another type of item Talkington loves to collect).
"When I was translating these stories from French to English, I fell in love with the French language, French culture, and French lingerie," said Talkington, who will soon travel to Paris to collect the 40 corsets she lent to the Louvre. "The English language doesnt have all of that poetry. We're very cut and dry and we kind of get to the point of what were saying."
The book also serves an accompaniment to the exhibition of vintage underwear she's put together for upcoming Taboo shows — and offers a preview of what to expect from Talkington's Antique Corset Museum (scheduled to open in 2014).
A Provocative Look at Intimate Apparel: Antique Corsets and Vintage Lingerie 1880-1960 retails for $22.99 at Lace Embrace Atelier (219 East 16th) and on their website; they'll also have a stack of books at their showcase table at Christmas at Hycroft (Nov. 21-24).
