Britney Spears Brings Back Romance, Poetry with Her Newest Commercial Endeavor
Britney Spears Brings Back Romance, Poetry with Her Newest Commercial Endeavor
Text: Natasha Stagg
Yesterday, I attended a presentation of Britney Spears's new lingerie and sleepwear line, The Intimate Britney Spears. Although the icon/designer herself was also in attendance, the turnout was surprisingly...intimate. Perhaps someone is finally taking note of the amount of unwanted attention the singer has repeatedly, publicly asked to eliminate. Hopefully, Spears's Las Vegas residency isn't, as some have described it, a last gasp, and is instead a triumphant takeover of her own image. The breakdowns, the breakups, the famous friends, the not-famous boyfriends, the teenaged hits, the power anthems: everything that is Britney Spears is part of something larger now, and instead of devouring it all and becoming the media machine that tried to take her down, she's distilling her crooked smile into the essential Spears. It's commercial, yes, but it's less flashy than any of her perfume launches. It's actually sort of romantic.
In a white room at the New York Public Library on 42nd Street, guests and an antsy photo pit wait for the event to start, flipping through a program full of original poetry describing each lingerie set, drinking complimentary Voss water, and holding chocolate squares in pink foil labeled with retail partner CHANGE Lingerie's insignia. Spears's familiar voice announces that (even though there are open seats) the show is about to begin. Underwear models drift out, pose, sit on overstuffed chairs, open feather fans, gaze in boudoir mirrors. Finally, Britney herself walks out in an all-American red pantsuit and thanks us, the selected press, for coming to see the collection she's been working on "for the past two years." Although the models in classic bras and garter belts one can easily picture Spears wearing—if only in a music video—are cute and sexy, the more interesting information we receive here is their descriptions. Below are each of the poems in the program, and above, two accompanying videos.
Amaryllis
Sometimes I like the
thrill of being two women
at the same time, the woman
I show the world, and the woman
I keep to myself ... each with
their own thrilling contrasts ...
intimate desires and pleasures ...
... like elegant cream satin and
black lace edges ... shimmering
gently over my shoulder.
On days like this you can call
me Amaryllis, but only in
a whisper, and only when
you feel as beautiful as a flower.
Camellia
If confidence is a feling
what does it feel like?
... feels luxurious like seamless
black lace and thin bold lines
that hold strength
and romance together,
... feels timeless and sheer,
smooth against your skin.
And this is what it looks like ...
a look that can hypnotize
a man and empower a woman.
Angelica
I am an art,
paint me in pastels
... the softest blush of roses
playing peek-a-boo
on sheer nylon.
Paint me satin and
embroider me with
mother of pearl.
Paint me feminie
with a bow and let me
feel like a little girl.
This is the art of being a
woman and remembering
the feelings of a girl.
Clematis
I prefer the shocking beauty
of being in love,
emotions that come together
and surprise us ...
think vibrant pink flowers
patterns in fields of lace
bordered by soft gray and
held forever with a tiny bow.
this is how you prove
the look of love
isn't just in your eyes
but something you wear.
Calla
What do you wear
to a luxurious rendezvous
with intimacy ... your skin
like the aroma of vanilla
cream swirls in a gentle dream
at the crossroads of
romance and solitude
where even a camisole feels
like a heart-shaped calla
This is where we'll
rendezvous ... your dream
and mine.