EXCLUSIVE: Ewan McGregor’s Daughter, Clara McGregor, Stars in Bluebella Campaign
Actor and producer Clara McGregor is adding model to her résumé. The star of “The Birthday Cake” movie, and daughter of actor Ewan McGregor is now the leading lady in British lingerie brand Bluebella’s holiday campaign and accompanying collection.
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“I’m an actor, producer — first and foremost — but I always love working in fashion and collaborating with people,” McGregor told WWD, regarding the new partnership. “When you’re making films and you’re telling stories and narrative, fashion and custom design plays such a big part. The two worlds often intertwine. That was very interesting to me. That’s probably where I first got the inspiration and interest in fashion. But I’m interested in anything creative, really.”
Video: Clara McGregor poses for Playboy
Bluebella’s 33-piece holiday collection will be released in two installments, the first of which drops today at Bluebella.com and Bluebella.us, along with select retailers in the U.S. and U.K., and the second in January. The collection includes cross-strap underwire bras, lacy panties, garter belts, bodysuits with leaf details, sleepwear with graphic prints and more, all timed for the holidays through Valentine’s Day.
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Prices start at $28 for a thong, up to $132 for a set. Sizes range from a U.S. size 2 to a size 16, although Emily Bendell, founder and chief executive officer of Bluebella, said one of the goals of the brand is to increase sizes with each new collection. For now, the majority of bras in the holiday assortment come in cup sizes A through G and 30 to 40 bands.
“There’s so much detail in the bra and then the material in the bra is gorgeous and so soft. That’s what drew me to Bluebella,” McGregor said. “There’s something so beautiful about the way the pieces are made in themselves. And it made me feel the sexiest when I was wearing them. What I love about Bluebella is that it is female-run and -owned and they really make beautiful lingerie for women and for us to enjoy for ourselves, as opposed to for anyone else.”
Bendell said that’s the essence of the brand.
“I consider Bluebella to be what I call a new feminist lingerie brand,” said the CEO, who founded the London-based business in 2005 after being unable to find lingerie she liked. “For too long, there has been this idea that lingerie is inherently unfeminist, which all ties to this idea that there’s this product that you dress up in for someone else, the male-gaze idea. And to me, lingerie has always been a fashion purchase to reflect your style, just like your shoes or your bag. And it should be something that you wear for yourself. And if it’s too pretty to hide, why hide it?
“A lot of our styling is innerwear as outerwear,” she continued. “Bluebella lingerie is very much a fashion lingerie brand with strength and attitude. The Bluebella girl, she wants newness, she wants to see what’s next. This collection is a really good representation of what we’re known for: graphic laces, bold details, metal work. It’s very modern. It’s very strong. And Clara is a great spokesperson for that. She’s a very vocal and active feminist.”
The entire Bluebella assortment is sold internationally. Pieces can be found in Victoria’s Secret, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Revolve, Shopbop, Selfridges, Asos, Zalando and soon in Macy’s.
“The product stands up in a luxury environment; it sits next to luxury brands,” Bendell said. “But because it’s affordable, which is a key part of the brand, we also sit well in that sort of fashion offering, or, the mid-level department store.”
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Bluebella is also expanding some of its existing categories, such as lingerie accessories and hosiery, while looking into new categories. The lingerie e-tailer doesn’t have its own brick-and-mortar stores, but Bendell said she isn’t ruling it out as a future possibility.
“I’d love to do a pop-up in the U.S. and meet the U.S. customer,” Bendell said, adding that the U.S. is one of the fastest-growing markets, along with Germany and Australia. “Of course, London is very much the heart of the brand. We’re very much inspired by London. The city is very much the heart of what we do.”
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