In the Atelier with Videnoir: Gothic Lingerie as Living Art
Darkly inspired designs created to be worn, and impossible not to photograph
By: Amanda Albert
Photo Credit: @benrekemeyer; Model: @alexis_pharae
Videnoir’s distinctly gothic visual language draws from a lifelong affinity for the dark, shaped by film, history, art, and architecture. This foundation is reinforced by more than fifteen years of dressmaking experience and a lineage rooted in corsetry and atelier work, carried forward through study and practice.
The design house moves with a near-devotional focus on precise pattern making and refined fit. Construction is approached with equal care, balancing comfort with a strong visual point of view. Each decision is made in close proximity to the body it is intended to shape.
In our conversation with Alice, Videnoir’s co-founder, we step inside the technical architecture behind each piece. She reflects on the references that inform the work, as well as the collections still to come.
Photo Credit: Videnoir featuring Videnoir team
1. Designers rarely arrive at a visual language by accident. What first sparked your connection to the gothic aesthetic, and how did that relationship develop, respectively, as you and your husband moved through adolescence?
I have always been very connected to black—it felt natural to me since I was very young. I remember when I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time in elementary school, and I understood that there was an aesthetic very close to what I already felt inside. That was the beginning.
My husband came to this world more through music, and that is also what connected us. From there, everything grew naturally together during our adolescence.
Photo Credit: @kllsym
2. With more than fifteen years of dressmaking experience behind the brand, Videnoir carries a strong sense of technical lineage. How did that background lead you toward lingerie design, and how does your partnership as a husband-and-wife team shape the creative process today?
I have always been fascinated by lingerie because I consider it one of the most difficult garments to create from a technical point of view. There is also a strong family background—my great-grandmother was creating corsets in France, and my grandmother had an atelier for clothing and swimwear.
So I received these bases from my family, and then I refined them through studies and many years of work.
Today we work in a very instinctive way as a couple. We follow what we really like, not a fixed method. I take care of pattern making, fitting, and construction—especially the cups, which are very important for us—while my husband works on graphics and the visual identity of the brand.
For me, a cup should not only support, but also embrace the body in a natural way. This balance is something we are always trying to improve.
We are a small brand, so every technical decision is very direct—there is no distance between the idea and the making.
Photo Credit: @ashlynnedae
3. The atmosphere surrounding your designs feels pulled from a storied constellation of references spanning architecture, film, art and literature. What creative sources most consistently inform the beginning of a new Videnoir design?
We are very passionate about films—almost in a very intense way. My first dream was to work in the film industry, especially in historical and fantasy productions.
At the same time, architecture has always been very close to me, also because of my family.
So our designs often start from this mix—cinema, architecture, and storytelling. Every piece is part of a bigger visual world. In a way, we don’t design only garments, but fragments of a world we are building.
4. Across your collections we see a rich visual language that includes cathedral structures, bats, spiders and other gothic motifs interpreted through both lingerie and fashion pieces. How do these symbols guide your design process while allowing each collection to feel distinctive and fresh?
We take inspiration first from what we live. Being in Italy means being surrounded by history, art, and architecture, and this naturally enters into our work.
At the same time, we follow more our personal taste than trends. We experiment a lot and see what feels right to us.
We don’t really see gothic as a trend, but more as a language that we reinterpret through structure, materials, and fit—trying to bring something historical into something more contemporary and wearable.
Photo Credit: @kllsym
5. Gothic fashion has always carried a deeper emotional register than most aesthetics, touching on beauty, vulnerability, romance and darkness all at once. What do you believe the gothic tradition allows designers to express about femininity that other fashion languages cannot?
For us, gothic is a combination of mystery and intensity. It is this contrast that we really love—between strong and delicate, dark and beautiful.
It is not only an aesthetic, but also something emotional. There is always a feeling of something hidden, something powerful but intimate.
6. Some garments become personal milestones for the designer who created them. Which Videnoir design holds the most meaning for you personally, and which piece has resonated most strongly with your customers?
Our gothic accessories were a very important moment for us. They allowed us to move into more statement pieces and explore something more theatrical.
At the same time, the pieces that work most with our customers are the ones that combine strong identity with wearability—especially those inspired by architectural shapes. They have a strong visual impact, but they can still be worn.
Photo Credit: Videnoir
7. Your garments carry a strong sense of authorship. When someone puts on a Videnoir piece for the first time, what emotional experience do you hope it creates for the person wearing it?
More than authorship, what we really want is that the person wearing our pieces feels strong, confident, and comfortable.
Fit is very important for us—especially how the cups shape and support the body. We also use adjustable elements to make the pieces more adaptable.
We design for people who want to feel strong without being too loud, and expressive but still comfortable. There is always a balance between presence and intimacy.
The piece should not overpower the person—the person should feel more themselves inside it.
8. Beyond lingerie, Videnoir has been debuting pieces such as panniers, epaulettes and statement accessories that expand the brand into a broader gothic wardrobe. What inspired this move into fashion, and how do these pieces extend the world you are building?
We actually started with clothing and accessories, and then we moved into lingerie. It felt like a natural step, because lingerie completes the outfit and is closer to the body.
Personally, I have never been very attracted to heavy or complicated garments. I prefer pieces that create a strong effect but are still comfortable. This balance is very important for us.
Photo Credit: @ashlynnedae
9. Videnoir speaks so beautifully to the meeting point of historical technique and modern desire. In an industry that often rewards speed and excess, what does it mean to you to build a brand around slow fashion, careful construction and pieces made to last?
Today, even “Made in Italy” can sometimes mean fast consumption and pieces that don’t last. For us, it is important to create something that you can wear many times, without fear that it will lose its quality.
This is also why we moved more into embroidery on sheer tulle. It creates a “tattoo effect” on the skin, but it is also more durable over time.
Even if the pieces look delicate, they are made to be worn, not only to be photographed.
We are not interested in creating pieces that exist only in images—we want them to live with the person who wears them.
Photo Credit: @kllsym
10. Designers are always quietly working on the next chapter of their story. Without giving too much away, what can you share about the direction of your upcoming collections?
Architecture and graphic elements will always be part of our identity, but with the new collections we are exploring two slightly different directions.
The collection that will be released between mid and late May is more connected to festivals and summer events—pieces that are expressive, lighter, and designed to be lived in different contexts, while still maintaining our visual identity.
After the summer, we will release the OHMYGOTH collection, which represents a deeper and more uncompromising return to a pure gothic aesthetic. It is darker, more direct, and more rooted in the visual and emotional codes that originally defined this world.
The OHMYGOTH collection is more instinctive and closer to our core identity—it reflects a more raw and essential side of our work.
We don’t try to follow what gothic is becoming—we try to reconnect with what made it powerful in the first place.
Oscar Wilde once said, “One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.”
With Videnoir, the distinction dissolves. Intricate construction and precise design come together in pieces that shape the body with intention, creating a sense of confidence that feels immediate. You wear the work, and in doing so, become part of it.
Which Videnoir collection is your favourite?
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About Videnoir
We are a "true” small brand—just the two of us—and everything is created from our laboratory.
I take care of pattern making, fitting, sewing, and customer communication and website, while my husband works on graphics, visual design, and packaging.
Even if sometimes we receive attention like a bigger brand, in reality everything is handmade by us, from zero.
Staying small and independent is very important for us—it allows us to stay close to our work and to the people who wear it.
