When it comes to telling the history of Agent Provocateur, the erotic lingerie company, it will be one marked by a fashion team that had a strong philosophy, saw a gap in the market and went for it.

Agent Provocateur likes to shock, with a range of lingerie that is naughty, yet at the same time mainstream. It treads a fine line between what is acceptable and what is over the top for the bulk of the market.

The company believes that a person’s inner passion and desire for intimacy should be indulged, and it’s only when a person explores their inner desires and fantasies, that they can enrich their life.   And the range at Agent Provocateur is designed to unlock those inner desires, with a range of lingerie that is both suited for the bedroom, and the boardroom.

It’s a formula which has worked in many respects.

Founded in 1994 by Joseph Corre and his wife Serena Rees, it now employs around 130 people in the U.K. and has a network of shops and concessions numbering 43. It trades in 18 countries which as well as the U.K., includes Bahrain, Dubai, Hong Kong and the U.S.

Ambitious growth plans pencil in a doubling of the number of stores and concessions over the next three years, and it has ear-marked a period of significant investment.

In November 2007 the company was bought for a total of £60 million by private equity group 3i and it continues to forge ahead. Latest figures reveal that it sales figures rose 26% to £21 million in the year to March, 2008.

Founder Joseph Corre is the son of famous British designer Vivienne Westwood and the former manager of Sex Pistols Malcolm McLaren. Corre upset the establishment in June 2007 when he refused to collect his gong (an MBE) for services to the fashion industry awarded in that’s year’s Queen Birthday’s Honours list. He cited outgoing labour prime minister Tony Blair as the reason for his refusal, saying he didn’t agree with the government’s decision to engage Iraq and their erosion of civil liberties.

Agent Provocateur bases a lot of its marketing strategy on controversial advertisements. The one featuring Kylie Minogue in December 2001 was only shown in cinemas due to its raunchy nature. It was then swiftly distributed via the internet as an ‘underground’ clip, demonstrating the power of viral marketing.

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