trey lingerie | meet the designer

Shared from schonmagazine.com.

Trey Lingerie seeks to empower all women around the world. With a mission focussed on both self-realisation and charity, the label produces exquisite pieces full of life and multicultural inspiration. Schön! spoke with the mind behind the label for further insight into the design process. 

What is your history as a fashion designer?

I grew up in a family tailoring and working with textiles (Khmer tradition silk) and other textile businesses. After graduating from Raffles Fashion College in Phnom Penh. My enthusiasm for fashion drove me to Europe, where my studies started in the UK for the year and then graduated at ESMOD Berlin. 

Following studying, I had an internship with Roberta Einer women’s ready-to-wear in London. When I lived in Europe, I also partly helped manage my family’s business by bringing the inspiration for the company home and making deals with fabric designers and dealers in Asia and Europe such as Solstiss, Sophie Halette, etc. After graduating, I also worked full time at Agent Provocateur in KaDeWe as a Sales Associate and in visual merchandising.

What inspired you to launch Trey Lingerie?

I think ‘love’ inspired me! It started before my winter holiday in 2020 when I was back from Berlin visiting my families, and then the whole pandemic hit hard around the world, and Cambodia was heavily locked down. All flights were cancelled and paused. Since most of my work was online, I started to find hobbies, practice my pattern-making skills, and read and research — although I think I had these ideas for a while whilst I worked in Agent Provocateur. 

When I was there, I saw how happy couples would be entering the store, and I cherished their love of lingerie. How they communicated with the products with their love was almost a chemical bond; it illustrated how designs connect with people. And I found this intriguing as a designer, and I wanted to create something that made a change to the human mind — to make people feel happy, better, and feel great about themselves enjoying the product.

Why did you decide to name the label Trey Lingerie? What does the name mean to you?

I want to create something that presents my identities and hometown, dedicated to empowering women and feminists. For that reason, I chose ‘Trey’ in Khmer, translated as ‘fish.’ It can also derive from ‘Srey’ or ‘Strey’, which means ‘Women’.

The name is also personal to me for reasons other than that. It is dedicated to supporting women and feminists. It represents positive energy and freedom as fish swim freely, and I believe this to be a symbol that embraces the diversity of beauty and women’s identities.

What best describes pieces you think represent Trey?

I think Chompei from the fluorescence collection shares feminine touch, modest. It is bold and elegant at the same time!

What else sets Trey apart from other lingerie brands working today?

Our products are created with limited stocks of less than a hundred pieces per style. We don’t over-produce and offer customisation dedicated to unique needs. We not only support feminists but the earth and health, too. Our production process is sustainable; we use the zero cut pattern method, our materials are mostly natural fibre silks and cotton, and we do best to avoid chemicals that harm the skin. 

Our products also have goodwill, and they produce even more incredible feelings after purchase! As we make efforts to help those who are in need, some of our profits go to rural areas in Cambodia, and some go to people who need funds to cover their treatments for various ailments. 

Your label works between Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Berlin, Germany. What do you think each location brings to your work? 

The diverse culture of both regions inspired Trey with multicultural characteristics. And the product itself gives unique experiences to the world, too. 

There is also a charitable angel to your work. Can you tell us about your plan for that?

Our current charitable plan goes like this: Our starting point is to target rural areas in Cambodia, with a portion of the profits from our designs going to charities separated by colour.

• red will go to cancer research
• blue will go to education
• pink will go to breast cancers and cervical cancer
• Multicolour such as print will go to urgent need, all-purposes and education 

We are also open to associate with any organisation or private group that would like to collaborate on our programs.

What’s been inspiring your work recently?

Recently I’ve been inspired by Plumeria flowers and orchids. I love how their unique appearance gives form to beauty. Their colours, shade, the time of their blooming; it’s like women — decisive, soft, bold, playful and beautiful.

What’s next for Trey Lingerie?

Improving! Learning from observing and never stop improving! We mainly focus on enhancing all of our qualities — not only our products, but our mentality. We are taking the chance to teach about healthy lifestyles through our products. Perhaps in the future, we plan to share and educate people. We plan to have free access to workshops, and the topics will be fashion and sustainability.

Shop everything from Trey Lingerie on the label’s website. Follow the brand on Instagram.

photography. Ratha Chey @ LAWOGA Studio + Marc Maria
fashion design. Simmy Chhun
make up. Koan Try + Tatiana Turko
model. Zoya Titova, Josephine @ Jay jay models
photography assistants. KongkeaVathana Kuch + Soklin Lon
location. LAWOGA, The Plant

 

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