Dutch underwear brand Saphh, known for its tacky advertising and law suits with the upmarket Marlies Dekkers’ brand, is aiming to become more classy, the NRC reports on Monday.

The company is using Amsterdam’s swanky The College Hotel to show fashion journalists, celebrities and sector peers how the brand intends to develop in the future.

Former owner Rob Heilbron was known for his policy of advertising on massive billboards with suggestive comments, such as highly-photoshopped former Olympic swimmer Inge de Bruijn with the phrase ‘let’s get wet’.

Russian prostitutes

But new owner Roland Kahn – who also owns CoolCat, M&S Mode and America Today – wants a change of style. ‘The models made you think of Russian prostitutes,’ he is quoted as saying in the NRC. ‘It was totally focused on men. You might get attention that way but no women want to buy your lingerie.’

The new campaign will be less loud and in your face, he says. ‘We are targeting the independent, self-assured Fifty Shades of Grey-woman. She is the boss.’

Copyright

Dutch lingerie queen Marlies Dekkers won her case against budget competitor Sapph for design theft in 2011 when a Utrecht court decided Sapph bras with a band across the top of the cup looked too much like Dekkers’ own design.

The court compared ten bras and three pairs of pants from Sapph with those of Dekkers and judged that four bras and one pair of knickers were in breach of copyright.

The resulting settlement almost bankrupted Sapph which was already in serious financial trouble. Kahn then took the company over for an unknown sum. ‘The company was too dependent on other firms,’ Kahn told the NRC. “We do not want to be a copy.’