The company sells colourful and fashionable lingerie[5] Joseph Corré is the designer for the brand.[6]
2007–2017
In 2007, after the divorce of Corré and Rees,
3i, a
private equity firm that invests in mid-size companies,[7] purchased 80% of the company for £60 million.[2][8]
Between November 2007 and March 2009 the company opened 13 shops, expanding to the US, Russia, Dubai and Hong Kong[9] By March 2008, Agent Provocateur's profits dropped 18% to £2.2 million due to the cost of expansion.[9]
Garry Hogarth stepped down as CEO in February 2016.[10]
In March 2017, the business entered
administration.[1] As part of a "pre-pack" deal, it was purchased by Four Holdings, a company one-third owned by British businessman
Mike Ashley who reportedly paid around "£25m after seeing off competition from private equity firm
Lion Capital."[1]
In December 2001, company produced a controversial short film featuring
Kylie Minogue riding a velvet bucking bronco while wearing the company's underwear to prove that their lingerie brand is the most erotic according to the male viewers.[12][13][14]
In the 2000s, the brand's annual revamp of its website, first by Wax New Media[15] and then Large Design,[16] became an industry benchmark.
The original Agent Provocateur logo and
wordmark were set from an existing over-the-counter typeface. As Corré’s venture grew, graphic design company
House Industries redrew and expanded on the logo. They penned a flowing
Spencerian wordmark as well as a racy leg logo for products including tissue paper and fabric monograms.[22]
Following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many Western companies curtailed their operations in Russia.[25] According to Agent Provocateur's Russian website[26] there are 10 Agent Provocateur franchise stores still operating in Moscow, leading to claims that the company is helping to finance Russia's war in Europe.[27]
Agent Provocateur said that the stores are "operated by franchisees under franchise/license agreements" according to "a system established by the previous owner of the business, many years ago" and that the company itself "does not 'operate' in Russia."[28]
^
abCooper, Leonie (11 January 2008). "G2: Style: Frilly business: We may demand cheap clothes, but we are prepared to splash out a lot more on what lies beneath. Leonie Cooper on the boom in luxury underwear". The Guardian (London).
^Briggs, Caroline (27 October 2006).
"Film-maker Figgis frames London". No. Entertainment. United Kingdom: BBC. BBC. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
^"Maggie Gyllenhaal Stars in New Agent Provocateur Campaign". Elle magazine. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2020. Hot on the heels of Kate Moss' starring role in last year's sensational Agent Provocateur campaign (yes the one of Kate in four steamy Mike Figgis films which crashed the AP website!) Today Maggie Gyllenhaal is revelled as the new star of Agent Provocateur's 'The Adventures of Miss A.P' - the lingerie label's sexy new ad campain [sic].
^"Daisy Lowe". No. Switch. United Kingdom: BBC. BBC. 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2017.