The Best ofIntima & Swim Edit
Supernatural Lingerie (USA)
21 March 2019
Opened in 2017 in the heart of Birmingham, Michigan, Supernatural Lingerie is the realization of founder Carlie Quezada’s dream: creating a modern space focused on independent designers, contemporary silhouettes and ethical practices.
The store has brought its celebration of femininity to the Detroit metro area, where it offers high-end brands – many of which are European – and a refuge from mainstream body image messaging. Here, lingerie fits both body and spirit and honors each woman’s experience.
What’s the concept behind Supernatural Lingerie?
It’s a lingerie and loungewear shop that emphasizes modern design, ethical production, and individualistic style.
Congratulations on the store’s first anniversary which you recently celebrated! What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned over the past year in retail?
Thank you! It has been exciting. Patience and collaboration, I would say, have been my biggest lessons. I am really grateful to all who have shown me a lot of generosity of time, ideas, and enthusiasm for the store’s concept.
From your visual branding to your female-centric and ethical philosophy, the concept behind Supernatural Lingerie is quite advanced. How did you develop it?
I think most women have social pressures that put us in an impossible position of feeling required to conform to certain standards of beauty, which (we are told) make us desirable to men, but also, we must not flaunt our sexuality or show certain parts of our bodies in public. I really wanted to collect many of the brands under one roof that are bucking this standard and defining an individualistic sense of style that in turn translates to celebration of the body and confidence in Self. Many of the designers (and their beautiful work) that I now carry in my shop completely transformed my own body image.
Lingerie is so often thought to be a costume—worn as a prop for sex, or for someone else other than the wearer. I don’t think of “lingerie” as a fancy thing reserved for special occasions, I see it as an everyday necessity and a treat all at once. I love the transformative power it has to brighten my day, to reflect my personal style in an intimate way—even if I am required to dress on the outside in a certain way for a job, event, etc. I can wear whatever I want underneath.
Regarding ethical production, this is the only future. I know from a consumer perspective it can be tough to research on your own so I wanted to make it easy for people to have a go-to place where they can know that everything was made ethically.
As for the visual branding, my husband is a graphic designer and developer so he and I created the logo collaboratively, based on the concept of the four stages of womanhood (maiden, red woman, mother, wise woman). And of course it looks like boobs—we lovingly call the logo “moon boobs.” :)
You spent some time in Paris before returning to the US. In your opinion, what are European lingerie retailers doing differently that American retailers could emulate?
I think there’s a lot more specialization in European retail. Smaller shops that have their own personality and a more limited selection that do their own thing really well, rather than going for mass appeal. I think this is true in bigger US cities as well, but in places with less population density, there are fewer lingerie shops aside from big chains or department stores. I personally prefer the charm of discovering special treasures in boutiques and having the experience of shopping from people with really specialized knowledge and taste—which ultimately makes the experience of lingerie shopping a lot more intimate and comfortable.
Supernatural represents the convergence of innovative design, fashion, mysticism and feminism. How have you translated these values into your physical sales space?
I keep a lot of plants around—I
like having the greenery and nurturing life. Both
of my grandmothers were prolific artists so I
have a lot of their paintings and drawings
throughout the store. I also keep lots of crystals
around and burn incense throughout the day to keep the vibes right and a pleasant smell all day long! The store is quite open and mostly clean lines throughout. The ambiance is intended to feel like an elevated but comfortable, familiar space. It’s a very eclectic style that mixes contemporary and vintage and is very personal. We also host a lot of events around herbalism, tarot, and personal/spiritual development.
What are the needs of your target market – as you put it, the “modern, magical woman”?
Being “modern and magical” means, to me, a woman who knows herself, knows her power, feels her connection to everything around her (the Earth, other humans) and cares about
style. The goal is to make women feel stylish,
empowered, sexy on their own terms, and
that they are buying into a brand with integrity. My customers don’t crave sameness. They crave individuality, freedom, and want to wear what reflects their personality and values.
You often organize in-store events such as tarot readings and reiki. Do these activities serve to bring in new customers? What other marketing activities do you do?
Yes, these activities have definitely helped broaden the audience. I’ve also done pop-ups at other stores and temporary shopping marketplaces.
In your effort to support an ethical supply chain, what is your process for selecting brands that are environmentally and socially conscious?
I like to ask a lot of questions about the brands’ process and materials. Often, they are quite transparent and much of this info can be found on their websites. As more and more consumers are interested in products that are made better, I as a retailer have the
responsibility to educate them about what that means, and why it’s important. So, if someone comes in and asks, “so everything is made ethically, what does that mean?” or “what does it mean for these tights to be sustainably made?” I can confidently say what the brand is doing to protect human rights and the future of the planet—like using recycled yarns, paying living wages to its workers, using solar powered facilities, etc.
What are currently your top-selling brands, and why do you think they resonate with your clientele?
So far, La Fille d’O has been really popular because it’s so different than what people are used to thinking of as “lingerie.” Else also does well because it’s fun and fresh—the geometric laces are again something really new for many of my customers—and the price point is more accessible. Fortnight, The Great Eros, and Adina Reay are also very popular!
What is your target or ideal price point?
It’s definitely on the high end but I am trying to mix in more variation.
Supernatural enjoys a robust digital presence. How do you navigate lingerie sizing and online shopping?
Well this is a tough one. Being quite new and still basically a one-woman operation, my website is not really the core of my business—it is a nice supplement for people to preview what’s in store, or if they are looking for something really particular, my shop has been a convenient resource since there’s not a lot of US stockists for the brands that I carry and some people prefer not to order online from overseas. I have a few ways for people to contact me with questions about sizing but I know this could be improved—I have plans to install a live chat function very soon to hopefully help with sizing more immediately and conversationally. It can be so tricky buying lingerie online and I really want to help everyone find just the right thing!
How does your online combine with your offline channel?
Right now, online accounts
for about 10-15% of my sales.
When I started my business,
the brick-and-mortar was
really important to me so that’s
where I focus most of my
energy and marketing
resources. I want to not only
have a location here in my
hometown to access these
beautiful brands, but also
create an empowering,
comfortable physical space for
a growing community of
women who want to support
and celebrate one another.
Plus, I am kind of a nerdy fan-
girl of all these indie brands
and designers so it brings me a
lot of joy to curate and educate
about the brilliant work they
do, and it’s a little easier to do that face-to-face than online.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m planning to make some significant updates to my website to make it better reflect the experience of shopping in the physical store. I am also planning to do more original photography. It’s really important for women to feel reflected in the marketing imagery they see, and right now there aren’t a lot different types of bodies being shown. I have a whole wall in the shop with photography to help people visualize what things may look like on (sometimes it’s hard to tell how awesome a bra is on a human when it is on a hanger!), but most of the imagery is of young, thin, white women. I would LOVE to hang up more representation of pregnant women, women over 50, and as many different bodies as possible. So far, I’ve been limited by budget in executing original shoots, but have a few plans in the works so I’m really excited about this.
Photos by Miles Marie
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