French say 'lingerie rocks' even in age of #MeToo

Fourteen top French lingerie labels staged a huge rock concert cum fashion show Sunday in the city which invented sexy underwear.

The musical extravaganza in Paris called "Lingerie Rocks" set out to show that in the era of #MeToo lingerie "was about making women feel good about themselves".

Creations by five rising young designers were also featured in the song-and-dance spectacular which aimed to showcase what is an almost completely female-dominated industry.

Karine Sfar, of the French lingerie federation, told AFP that women wanted comfort more than anything -- whether they wore lingerie for seduction or support.

Sales of push-up bras and G-strings have been on the slide as women go for a more natural feel and look, according to the industry, which has a turnover of nearly two billion euros ($2.2 billion) in France alone.

"All women regardless of their body shape have the right to feel beautiful and feel good about themselves. Lingerie helps you feel at ease," Sfar said.

Sales of French lingerie are growing and Sfar said the industry prides itself on elegance, two centuries of know-how and designing for women of all shapes.

New fabrics, 3-D design and rigorous testing on "real women" -- with bra makers themselves road testing new models at home -- mean that most garments now "felt like a second skin", Sfar argued.

"The aim is that a woman might even forget what she is wearing," she added.

"Lingerie Rocks", only the second joint show that the French industry has ever staged, came right in the middle of the first Paris fashion fortnight of the year.