Nicole Kidman alone used 36 tops during the shoot

 


BASLER NEWSPAPER; SEPTEMBER 2, 1999

Hanro, the Liestal-based lingerie company, is jubilant: the new Kubrick film is not only filling the movie theaters, but also Hanro's cash registers in the USA. The top, worn in the hottest movie scene, is a best seller. "Hanro goes Hollywood": In Liestal, the huge success and the media hype can't quite be grasped yet.


Originally, the new Stanley Kubrick film "Eyes Wide Shut" with the Cruise-Kidman couple was only talked about because of the two main actors and the hot love scene. But now the hype is all about a new, shiny star in the U.S. sky: the white camisole top in which Nicole seduces her Tom. Female moviegoers are literally clamoring for the lingerie. Sales have skyrocketed. One company in particular is pleased: Hanro AG in Liestal. The shirt, which is now the talk of the town and clings to more female bodies than ever before, comes from their collection.



NO PRODUCT PLACEMENT

IAt Hanro, the huge success and the media hype are still hard to grasp, says Ursula Kyburz, who is responsible for international communications. It was by no means the first time hat a Hanro product had made a big appearance. But never before has a Hanro top been presented in such a fiery and effective way. Until then, the lingerie company had always kept quiet about the successes and failures of its product placements. But in this case, the media were on it from the start. Because this is - and this is the highlight of the story - not a product placement. It came about like this: Hanro owns a showroom on Sloane Street in London. The manager there is friends with Nicole Kidman's stylist. When lingerie was to be selected for the "Eyes Wide Shut" film, the stylist also asked her friend, who sent her a selection. But then it was more or less by chance that the costume designers in the Hanro showroom in New York would chose the model 1501 in white with satin ribbon. Kubrick required a sexy, but not too trendy, ti eless top. The Hanro camisole fit this criteria perfectly. And the fact that this lingerie was used in the hottest seduction scene of the film - Nicole Kidman alone used 36 pieces for the filming - ultimately benefited the Liestal company. The premiere of the film immediately had people running to purchase the Hanro lingerie in the USA. That's just the way they are, the Americans: Nicole Kidman wears a simple white shirt and it's already achieved a cult status. But the crowd didn't necessarily just pounce on the 1501 style - which, according to Ursula Kyburz, has always been a "top seller". The entire Hanro collection has been discovered by the masses - Hollywood stars such as Uma Thurman and Meg Ryan, on the other hand, have long been private Hanro fans. Hanro does not disclose exact sales figures. But at the company's headquarters in Liestal, one success meeting after another is convened to deal with this "crisis." It is also necessary to look ahead: The film premiere in Europe is not far off and Hanro want to be ready for anything.



JUBILATION

In any case, the entire Hanro workforce is overjoyed. A real surge of motivation has gone through the company, Ursula Kyburz describes the mood in Liestal. Although the company has belonged to the Austrian company Huber Holding GmbH since 1991, the canton Basel-Landschaft still claims to be the soul of Hanro. The events in the USA validate Hanro and its over 100-year tradition. Also the trend that Ursula Kyburz has been following closely for some time: The film industry is opting more and more for Hanro products. So it doesn't seem presumptuous for the Liestal company to proclaim in the «Bunten»: «Hanro goes Hollywood.»


Andrea Masek, Basler Newspaper, September 2nd, 1999

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