Sketch by Carrie Russell-Bakker,
Designer-Owner of With Love Lingerie
Carrie Russell-Bakker
English grad weaves a tale of success
Carrie Russell-Bakker’s passion for lingerie was sparked through a rather unusual setting – her English classes at Western University. Russell-Bakker has taken her love of storytelling and fused it with a refined design sensibility to create With Love Lingerie, a high-end, Canadian-made boutique lingerie line.
After earning a BA in English and Visual Art at Western, Carrie Russell-Bakker followed her passion for style and continued her studies in fashion design and construction. She branched out on her own after learning the ropes of design, manufacturing, outsourcing and marketing at an adult lingerie company based in Kitchener-Waterloo. Russell-Bakker saw the market for luxurious goods that were crafted with high-attention to detail. Her line uses rich fabrics – silks, high end stretch – and is clearly aimed at a woman who wants to feel pampered.
Carrie Russell-Bakker's inspriation begins with a written story, which she then translates into her designs. Her whimsical and poetic sketches illustrate the delicate details of her lingerie pieces alongside the story of each garment's muse. The With Love Lingerie brand has become popular with its clientelle for allowing women to embace, enhance or alter their personas, and to tell their own stories through fashion.
Carrie Russell-Bakker also teaches make-your-own lingerie classes with partners from Sew Be It Studios. These workshops are popular with a whole spectrum of clients; from teens, to twenty-somethings, to grandmothers. Students not only come away with a stronger knowledge of garment construction, but also deeper appreciation of fashion and femininity.
Carrie Russell-Bakker started her business with five stores in Toronto, and she now has ten boutiques selling her line in Toronto, one in LA, and interest from Boston and Chicago stores. www.withlovelingeriexoxo.com
Your Classmates
Western Arts and Humanities grads are employed in exciting and diverse fields all over the globe. To read about some of our notable Arts and Humanities alumni visit HERE.
Read the latest Alumni Gazette HERE
DEPARTMENT Links
- Classical Studies
- English
- Film Studies
- French Studies
- Modern Languages and Literatures
- Philosophy
- Visual Arts
- Women's Studies and Feminist Research
- Linguistics Program
- Writing, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication
