OOOH, LA LA

Polka-dot dice bra £75

Monday August 11,2008

By Claire Brayford

MEET the woman putting fun and fantasy into lingerie...

I wanted to create underwear that would cheer girls up on a grey, rainy Monday morning,” says Fine Rees, Britain’s hottest new lingerie designer about her latest range.

“Something bright with a sense of humour.”

The 33-year-old former actress has no formal design training yet her pefectly designed pants are cropping up in the knicker drawers of stars from Scarlett Johansson to Helena Bonham Carter.

Her Primrose Hill boutique in north London, which goes by the wonderful title of Miss La La’s Boudoir, has become a veritable dressing-up box for stars looking to enhance their inner showgirl.

Gwen Stefani, Amy Winehouse and Jools Oliver are also fans.

Turquoise set £144.50

“I want women to walk into my shop in their Uggs and walk out feeling like Marilyn Monroe,” Fine says.

“Life is tough. We are expected to work hard and play hard and I want to help women to bring out their inner diva.”

Her first collection was snapped up by Harvey Nichols and Boudiche in Edinburgh as well as stores in New York and Sydney and later this month she will be opening her second London store in Monmouth Street, Covent Garden.

Now the world’s biggest lingerie maker, The Stirling Group who are behind M&S’s Autograph underwear range, have signed her up for five years.

Miss La La’s autumn/winter collection is bursting with opulent velvet and champagne silk trims, matching suspender belts and basques.

There are playing-card print robes and matching eye-masks. Everything about the collection is playful rather than practical.

“For me, lingerie is about fashion. It’s an accessory that you can co-ordinate or mismatch with your outfit, says Fine.

“I know people who even match their bra straps to their shoes!”