Striplink is a new Parisian lingerie brand co-founded by multi-hyphenate visionaries Yonathan Trichter and Levaï Yatchou. We got to chat to them after they dropped their first collection called, Levaï, this summer. The conversation took many unexpected turns. We touched on creative collaboration, Tom Ford’s G-string, the Paris scene, entrepreneurship, vixens, and much more.
Striplink hybridises lingerie and jewellery design to make unique pieces that are locally produced in France and Italy at a small scale. The idea that seems foundational to the brand is that underwear can be both practical and an accessory — a thong can be worn like a watch and be a marker of taste, (they use stainless-steel and PVD coating for the jewellery component, just like Rolex does). Their collection seems to play on our collective obsession with the whale tail by completely reinvigorating it.
What sets Striplink apart as a brand is that they collaborate with talent from different spheres, from dancers to graphic designers to illustrators. They also place Black bodies front and centre. Perhaps what is most interesting about their campaigns is that they simultaneously shatter white, heteronormative beauty standards, but they also challenge the dominance of masc. men within queer spaces.
In essence, the brand also works as a creative platform or a new type of collective, getting people together through a love of fashion and emerging culture. Through their lingerie, Trichter and Yatchou want to empower anyone who may not always feel seen or comfortable in certain environments and whose bodies have been read in a very particular, often exoticised way, by the media, and the general public. As its name suggests, the brand is also concerned with linking up-and-coming DJs, visual artists, musicians, dancers and other visionaries through their collections and accompanying programming. Striplink has already welcomed many people into the fold, and many have been spotted wearing the first collection, from Paris-based DJs Crystallmess and Jeune Pouce, to British model, Georgia Palmer.
First of all congratulations on the launch of Striplink and for dropping your first collection! Could you introduce yourselves and tell us a little about your individual creative journeys before co-founding the brand?
Levaï: My journey into clothing and the fashion industry has many twists and turns. After graduating from high school at 17, I came to Paris with the hope of going to fashion school and thanks to my friends and my environment, I started to get a lot of styling jobs, particularly for underground musicians and their music videos. I also assisted on editorial shoots, and from there, developed my own tastes, learning how to collaborate with different people and talents. I realised that I liked this on-site environment and that the fashion industry was where I wanted to evolve, without knowing exactly where the industry may take me. While styling, I sometimes also worked as a model, which taught me a lot about materials and comfort, helping me understand how close fashion and performance really are. The experience showed me how to create a narrative through garments and how to make clothing come alive. Having both experiences, curating and modelling, ultimately exposed me to both sides of the camera. Now I know all about how to create the most exciting visual campaigns, which is useful!
Yonathan: Before starting the brand and still while managing the brand, I work as an artist. I started with visual art and now I am more focused on immersive performance experiences. I founded an art company, Penthouss, which has given me a holistic education and a lot of exposure to production, imagery and working with different materials. For the last four years I have also done stone carving. I actually exhibited one of my sculptures at the Panthéon in Paris in 2021.
Yonathan: Before starting the brand and still while managing the brand, I work as an artist. I started with visual art and now I am more focused on immersive performance experiences. I founded an art company, Penthouss, which has given me a holistic education and a lot of exposure to production, imagery and working with different materials. For the last four years I have also done stone carving. I actually exhibited one of my sculptures at the Panthéon in Paris in 2021.
How did you two meet and where did the initial idea for Striplink originate from?
Yonathan: I went out to le Petit Palace in Paris. I was dancing behind the DJ and Levaï asked for a cigarette. Since then, we came to be the best of friends.
Levaï: Actually, a week later, it was Yoni’s birthday and he invited me. We didn’t know each other well but I went anyway. At this point we figured out our birthdays are only 4 days apart and we bonded instantly. After that, we worked on an art project together, which made us realise we were good collaborators too.
In terms of how Striplink came to be, working as a stylist eventually didn’t fulfil me and I felt like I needed something more, like a bigger step. During that time (back in 2017) I was obsessed with lingerie, specifically the G-string by Tom Ford. It was definitely too expensive for me, and with my friends I started to imagine creating my own accessible lingerie brand, something as cool as this G-string. From this challenge, I started to design a logo and discussed it with Yonathan who loved the idea. So we started to be partners on this project.
Levaï: Actually, a week later, it was Yoni’s birthday and he invited me. We didn’t know each other well but I went anyway. At this point we figured out our birthdays are only 4 days apart and we bonded instantly. After that, we worked on an art project together, which made us realise we were good collaborators too.
In terms of how Striplink came to be, working as a stylist eventually didn’t fulfil me and I felt like I needed something more, like a bigger step. During that time (back in 2017) I was obsessed with lingerie, specifically the G-string by Tom Ford. It was definitely too expensive for me, and with my friends I started to imagine creating my own accessible lingerie brand, something as cool as this G-string. From this challenge, I started to design a logo and discussed it with Yonathan who loved the idea. So we started to be partners on this project.
Tell me more about are your cultural references. Is there a particular figure, fashion house, artistic movement or practice that has shaped your visions and contributed to the brand’s aesthetic?
Yonathan: So many! The Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowsky), Aeon Flux (original anime), Thierry Mugler, Björk, Beyoncé, Pierre Huyghe , Anne Imhof, The Handmaiden (2016), Alexander McQueen, scuba diving in the Red Sea, textures of the fishes, Leigh Bowery, Iris van Herpen, the Disney animation movies, Francis Bacon, shapes of nature, the Mercedes C111, Künstlers Michael Sailstorfer.
Levaï: For me, it’s my mother, who is a hairstylist. In my family, a large part of women are seamstresses and their craft really inspired me. 2000s rap and RnB video clips, Melyssa Ford, Grace Jones, Lil’ Kim, Baddies (2021), Destiny’s Child, Lady Gaga, Porsche and Maybach — my step father had a incredible small car collection and taught me this passion, Ratchet girls, Nicki Minaj, Makossa dance, Desperate Housewives.
Levaï: For me, it’s my mother, who is a hairstylist. In my family, a large part of women are seamstresses and their craft really inspired me. 2000s rap and RnB video clips, Melyssa Ford, Grace Jones, Lil’ Kim, Baddies (2021), Destiny’s Child, Lady Gaga, Porsche and Maybach — my step father had a incredible small car collection and taught me this passion, Ratchet girls, Nicki Minaj, Makossa dance, Desperate Housewives.
Where did the brand name come from?
Levaï: On this topic we can say a lot!
Yonathan: Actually the name of the brand was not our first choice. We were working under the name Levaï for a couple of years, before going live officially. A month before the launch, we found out that we had to change it for legal reasons, we were very disappointed. It was a big crisis in the studio!
Levaï: Everything was halted.
Yonathan: We were actually a bit lost. So we started a research project that took a lot of our time and energy. We had several proposals but a lot of our ideas were already taken and had copyright. Our sister Steven, who also contributes to the image direction of the brand among others, found this archaic, humorous term stripling meaning young boy. We liked this idea of adolescent and gentle reshaping of masculinity, and also the way the word sounds. More literally, the term led us to strip and link, which nicely echoed what we’re about: bearing yourself through undressing, and linking up, finding kinship between people in the community. These two words compounded together made a lot of sense, particularly because our lingerie is also a compound, material and jewel. It instantly made sense for us. We still have in mind that the name is a bit of a risk because of the immediate sexual connotation, but since our brand’s DNA is all about sex-positivity and embracing all sexual expressions and attitudes, we decided it was a risk worth taking.
Yonathan: Actually the name of the brand was not our first choice. We were working under the name Levaï for a couple of years, before going live officially. A month before the launch, we found out that we had to change it for legal reasons, we were very disappointed. It was a big crisis in the studio!
Levaï: Everything was halted.
Yonathan: We were actually a bit lost. So we started a research project that took a lot of our time and energy. We had several proposals but a lot of our ideas were already taken and had copyright. Our sister Steven, who also contributes to the image direction of the brand among others, found this archaic, humorous term stripling meaning young boy. We liked this idea of adolescent and gentle reshaping of masculinity, and also the way the word sounds. More literally, the term led us to strip and link, which nicely echoed what we’re about: bearing yourself through undressing, and linking up, finding kinship between people in the community. These two words compounded together made a lot of sense, particularly because our lingerie is also a compound, material and jewel. It instantly made sense for us. We still have in mind that the name is a bit of a risk because of the immediate sexual connotation, but since our brand’s DNA is all about sex-positivity and embracing all sexual expressions and attitudes, we decided it was a risk worth taking.
At it’s core Striplink’s universe revolves around Black women and femme people. This is refreshing given the fact that the fashion industry centres white, cis-gendered bodies, and the queer scene generally revolves around gay, masc men. Is it fair to say the brand is making space for new faces, voices and a new type of community?
Levaï: Yes, this is true. Striplink is here to break the rules, and highlight the people who are too often shut down. I am referring to minorities, especially black women, plus size bodies, and trans people. It is our goal to fight the diktats of the fashion industry. As a black queer woman, and Yonathan as a queer femme, for us it was natural, logical and essential to represent the people and communities we belong to, and our values, especially through the people we put on the stage.
Yonathan: We didn’t think of this in terms of branding or inclusivity. And I think it was Toni Morrison who said something about the centre being recast, the margins being the centre for those who inhabit that space. Black women and femme people are at the core of the brand because it is literally who we are. It’s a direct reflection of our group of friends and the people around us. We always celebrated and supported the unique beauty of each of them, but of course, we want everyone to participate and feel welcomed into our universe. We see beauty in our friends even if it’s not the standard in the industry. Through our communities we found a way to find joy in our own bodies, feeling proud and comfortable with them. I hope that with the brand growing, we will continue to create this safe place.
Yonathan: We didn’t think of this in terms of branding or inclusivity. And I think it was Toni Morrison who said something about the centre being recast, the margins being the centre for those who inhabit that space. Black women and femme people are at the core of the brand because it is literally who we are. It’s a direct reflection of our group of friends and the people around us. We always celebrated and supported the unique beauty of each of them, but of course, we want everyone to participate and feel welcomed into our universe. We see beauty in our friends even if it’s not the standard in the industry. Through our communities we found a way to find joy in our own bodies, feeling proud and comfortable with them. I hope that with the brand growing, we will continue to create this safe place.
Who are the artists and up-and-coming visionaries you’re collaborating with at the moment?
Yonathan: A big shout out to the first artist who really believed and contributed to the brand through to today, Thomas Istepanyan https://perizome.artstation.com/, whose background as a concept artist and illustrator for video games helped conceive our graphics. These collaborations really show the way we work, we look for talent outside of the usual fashion bubble. We also worked with Sam Aldridge,who helped us a lot for the 3D work around the jewellery.
Since then, we started to work with a lot of different artists from various fields : PJ Harper (@pig.malion) who created figurines of our friends wearing the lingerie or Mab @mablacas who body painted a replica of our Baddy design on Aleia @aleiabanshee. We also have something in the works with visual artist and friend Pol Taburet who had an amazing solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations last year.
Since then, we started to work with a lot of different artists from various fields : PJ Harper (@pig.malion) who created figurines of our friends wearing the lingerie or Mab @mablacas who body painted a replica of our Baddy design on Aleia @aleiabanshee. We also have something in the works with visual artist and friend Pol Taburet who had an amazing solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations last year.
Let’s talk about your first collection called Levaï. Can you tell us a little about the ways you melded jewellery design with lingerie design?
Levaï: We always wanted to play with this particular association: lingerie and jewellery. How can we make a thong feel like something you may want to show off, like a watch or a necklace? We also needed to be different from other brands, and we pushed the idea a bit further and created a piece of jewellery that was central to both our thongs and bras. You hook the garment onto this steel piece which you can reuse with as many of our bras and thongs as you like. The lingerie is a compound made from two parts and hooking the jewel and the material together is super straightforward. This is part of our distinctive ecosystem.
Yonathan: Our jewellery development was a big part of the project, it took us almost 4 years, because we wanted to create something that resembled the precision and design of a luxury watch but with a mechanism that is also easy and comfortable for the wearer.
Yonathan: Our jewellery development was a big part of the project, it took us almost 4 years, because we wanted to create something that resembled the precision and design of a luxury watch but with a mechanism that is also easy and comfortable for the wearer.
Do you think there is a line to be drawn between sexiness and sensuality?
Yonathan: It is very personal for me, and it depends who you ask, but as the co-creative director of Striplink, it was always very important, before the sexiness, to create a sensual environment. It’s also very important for us to mention that, especially with our community Black bodies and trans bodies, there is an over-sexualisation and objectification, which is very harmful. So we have to be careful not to only concentrate on the sexy.
For me sensuality can be both gentle and wild, but the real base is feeling safe and therefore empowered, free, and happy. Once we connect to our own sensuality, the erotic or sexy comes in. In our campaigns sensuality and eroticism manifest in many ways. It depends on the model, the shoot, the day, each person draws their very subjective line towards sexiness. We really want sensuality to be the origin of where our customers feel empowered.
For me sensuality can be both gentle and wild, but the real base is feeling safe and therefore empowered, free, and happy. Once we connect to our own sensuality, the erotic or sexy comes in. In our campaigns sensuality and eroticism manifest in many ways. It depends on the model, the shoot, the day, each person draws their very subjective line towards sexiness. We really want sensuality to be the origin of where our customers feel empowered.
You’re both based in Paris, and the city seems to be having a creative resurgence in the past few years. What is your relationship to place and the cultural scene at the moment? Have these relationships echoed into Striplink’s DNA?
Levaï: We have observed a lot of changes this past years, before Covid the night life was so intense, the energy is a bit different now. There are less parties and people are more recluse, things feel slightly less dynamic and the cost of living keeps going up. But, like in many times of crisis, there is also a new creative impulse in the air. Now lot of young people are launching their own businesses. Yet, we are still feeling that the same privileged people are doing it, especially in fashion. So a good challenge was to launch something that felt representative. This is why we collaborate with talented people who didn’t get the chance to work in the fashion world [yet]. Hopefully more creatives from minority groups are encouraged to launch their own thing. If we can do it, so can they!
Yonathan: I think it’s very true, we get a lot of positive feedback from young people and we feel we are now part of this creative resurgence in Paris. I think that because of Brexit lots of change has happened, and slowly more opportunities are opening up. People are coming from all over the world to live here, big and small museums are opening. We’ve seen so many Parisian brands like Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Egon Lab, Marine Serre, or Pressiat, emerge as part of this renaissance.
You recently curated the brand’s launch event at Silencio. How was that experience? Will there be more Striplink programming and events that we should be excited about?
Levaï: The event was such a success! We really felt all the love carried by people who supported us that night. We had the chance to bring our favourite Paris-based DJs and musicians, (Crystall Mess, Baby Morocco, Jeune Pouce, Emma DJ and Broodoo Ramses) who are also really good friends.
Yonathan: We were happy to have people meet from different walks of life, and see how many beautiful spirits support the launch. I think we also understood through this event that partying and dancing and celebrating are also a part of Striplink. So watch this space — there will be more collective nights to come!
Yonathan: We were happy to have people meet from different walks of life, and see how many beautiful spirits support the launch. I think we also understood through this event that partying and dancing and celebrating are also a part of Striplink. So watch this space — there will be more collective nights to come!
How did you conceive and curate your first visual campaign?
Yonathan: When we started to think about the image campaign, we wanted to go back to the roots of vixen core, and the immediate reference was Pamela Anderson and Playboy magazine. We wanted to find a way to recreate this moment — what we like about PB is that it showcases models with a very minimal background and powerful positions. It’s all about silhouette.
Levaï: Of course, we wanted to do it our own way and empower women, men and queer people by not framing any elements of the campaign through the [traditional] male gaze. For the video, we wanted to keep the minimal concept with simple yet strong shapes, celebrating pole-dancing as an artform with the metal pole referencing the jewellery component of our product. The models’ suspended limbs also became a sort of entangled jewel. We chose the dark contrast with the white backgrounds for the photography stills because a monochrome palette heightened the electric orange colours of our first drop.
Levaï: Of course, we wanted to do it our own way and empower women, men and queer people by not framing any elements of the campaign through the [traditional] male gaze. For the video, we wanted to keep the minimal concept with simple yet strong shapes, celebrating pole-dancing as an artform with the metal pole referencing the jewellery component of our product. The models’ suspended limbs also became a sort of entangled jewel. We chose the dark contrast with the white backgrounds for the photography stills because a monochrome palette heightened the electric orange colours of our first drop.
How did you think about accessibility when pricing your collection?
Yonathan: We wanted our collection to be as accessible as possible without compromising the materials and the quality. We were wondering if we should go with cheaper manufacturing countries, but from our own experience as fashion lovers we preferred to enhance quality to avoid what we often see in the current fashion market. We don’t want to support cheap labour.
Levaï: We really forced the price down as much as we could, but considering that everything is made in France, the fabrics come from Italy, and the jewellery is cut from fine stainless steel, we always knew the pricing would be in the middle range. We hope our consumers feel purchasing Striplink is like investing in a piece of jewellery which happens to also function as breathable underwear.
Levaï: We really forced the price down as much as we could, but considering that everything is made in France, the fabrics come from Italy, and the jewellery is cut from fine stainless steel, we always knew the pricing would be in the middle range. We hope our consumers feel purchasing Striplink is like investing in a piece of jewellery which happens to also function as breathable underwear.
What has been a big win for you so far in the process of building and launching the brand, and has there been a particularly challenging moment for you as new entrepreneurs?
Levaï: We really appreciate the creative process, particularly shooting and casting parts as well! We love interacting with people, this is the fun part, and we learn a lot by doing it. We’re definitely self-taught and still learning. But as entrepreneurs it is hard to give 100% all the time with so many moving parts and still find time for ourselves and feel financially secure.
Yonathan: Since we are not [both] coming [directly] from the fashion world, we really did have to teach ourselves most things which was fun and surprising, sometimes challenging. The hard part was also finding the perfect manufacturer to match our quality expectations. Eventually we did. The big win: the fact that we actually launched, and that Levaï and I are closer than ever.
Yonathan: Since we are not [both] coming [directly] from the fashion world, we really did have to teach ourselves most things which was fun and surprising, sometimes challenging. The hard part was also finding the perfect manufacturer to match our quality expectations. Eventually we did. The big win: the fact that we actually launched, and that Levaï and I are closer than ever.
What can we expect from the second collection?
Levaï: More colours, new jewellery, iconic moments, and more parties. Une collection t’as peur!
