I SPY! VIVI LEIGH LONDON - Underlines Magazine

Vivi Leigh London is a new lingerie brand created by Arena Page, a technical designer with over 11 years’ experience in the luxury and couture fashion world. Her collection is online on her own website and at Wolf & Badger and her pre-order collection is due to be launched shortly. Underlines chatted with Arena about her brand and her broader message to the female community.

“I’ve spent over a decade working as a creative pattern cutter in the luxury fashion world in London—developing collections for haute couture clients, red-carpet regulars, ready-to-wear catwalks, and some of the most technically complex garments you can imagine. Fabric has always been my first language—draping, shaping, and constructing pieces that move with the body. I graduated from London College of Fashion with a Master’s in Fashion Design and Technology in 2012, and honestly, the rest was couture history.

“I decided to work in lingerie because lingerie is where we meet ourselves first. It’s that first layer against the skin—the private expression of who we are before we dress for the world. To me, lingerie holds energy, sensuality, softness, and strength. The right piece can shift your mood, your posture, your sense of self. I’ve always been fascinated by that quiet power.

How and when did you launch your Vivi Leigh lingerie brand?

“It started with heartbreak, a pandemic, and a redundancy. Talk about a perfect storm.

Newly single after a long marriage, I was trying to stay upbeat—rebuilding myself, re-entering the world, and, yes, figuring out the terrifying art of dating again.

One day, standing in front of my wardrobe like so many women do, I was trying to piece together an outfit that felt beautiful and real.

My lingerie options? Two extremes: ultra-sexy, slightly torturous pieces that felt like a performance… or the “meh” everyday basics, including yoga bras and greying straps. Nothing met me where I was – wanting to feel effortless and feminine, without compromising comfort.

That’s when the lightbulb went off: there’s a gap between “practical” and “powerful.” So I started building a brand that bridges that space—everyday luxury lingerie that feels like you, with accessories to dial it up when you want. Sensual, sustainable, and designed with care.

The trials along the way?

While my technical skills serve me well in product development and design, the other aspects of building a business have been a masterclass in adaptability. Marketing, PR, operations—these were all uncharted territories. As a solo founder doing it all, I’ve had to embrace being a beginner again in many areas. The challenge of mindfully allocating limited resources across numerous priorities has been constant. Perhaps most challenging, I’ve had to become a storyteller—finding my voice as a writer to communicate the brand’s vision.

Your proudest moment to date?

Launching my website and receiving my first order. That ping was more than a sale—it was validation that someone, somewhere, felt what I was trying to create.

And your biggest mistake?

No mistakes. Just expensive lessons!

A Week in Your Life?

It’s a bit of a dance—equal parts creative flow and organised chaos. I move between design and development, working hands-on with fabrics, sewing, fitting, and refining. Then I switch gears into the business side: packing orders, keeping the brand present on social media, connecting with collaborators, and slowly teaching myself how to speak the strange languages of AI, SEO, and Google performance tools.

It’s a constant balancing act—being the designer, the strategist, the content creator, and sometimes even the courier. But somehow, in the middle of it all, there’s still room for beauty, growth, and building something that feels deeply personal and purposeful.

Where will you be in 10 years? Any plans for expanding the collection?

The mission is clear: to build a strong, sustainable business that supports both people and the planet, while helping women feel beautifully themselves. I have lots of ideas across lingerie, accessories, and even ready-to-wear—things that layer well with the body and the brand.

The next 10 years will be full of experimentation, and I’m open to where the customer leads us.

Any plans for wholesale?

We’re direct-to-consumer for now. I like the intimacy of it. The conversation is closer.

If you were not doing this, what would you be doing instead?

There is simply nothing else I could be doing. This brand represents the perfect convergence of my technical expertise, creative vision, and personal values. Every other path would feel like a compromise.

What is your greatest challenge?

Censorship—and the ongoing struggle for the right to female body expression.

When I started this brand, I didn’t fully realise how deeply entrenched the problem is. The female body—particularly in the context of lingerie and sexual wellness—is still considered taboo, even dangerous. You can’t show softness without being flagged. You can’t speak openly about sensuality without being filtered or shadow banned. Even artistic, non-explicit representations of the female form are regularly classed as adult content, while male expressions often go unchecked.

Navigating these restrictions—especially on social media—has become one of the biggest challenges. You’re not just running a brand; you’re walking a tightrope between visibility and censorship, between self-expression and imposed shame.

But here’s the thing: it’s also what ignited a new mission in me.

Because this isn’t just about marketing—it’s about advocating for women’s autonomy, and reclaiming the right to express ourselves—emotionally, sensually, artistically—without fear of being silenced.

Through this challenge, I’ve discovered that I’m not alone. There are so many of us—female founders, creatives, disruptors—facing the same barriers. And instead of fighting these battles in isolation, I want to build a community of like-minded women. To join forces. To break the system. To shift the narrative.