Marlies Dekkers

About Marlies Dekkers

Marlies Dekkers is an internationally renowned lingerie designer who sparked a lingerie revolution 20 years ago. Her designs are internationally regarded as groundbreaking, trendsetting, and innovative. The traditional, romantic lace and ribbon give way to a powerful interplay of lines, layers, and subtle cutouts in unexpected places. During her lectures, Marlies Dekkers discusses the digitalization of her business and her plans for the future. She also reflects on the challenges she faced and the lessons she learned from them. After the bankruptcy at the end of 2013, she made a comeback and is now focusing, among other things, on e-commerce.

As an entrepreneur, you must constantly innovate. In recent years, for example, e-commerce has become increasingly popular. As a business owner, you must embrace these kinds of developments. You must dare to innovate by being flexible, curious, and full of life. For me, this is ultimately the beauty of life. Following your dream as an entrepreneur does not come without setbacks, and both aspects present a challenge to manage. One fall comes with more muscle pain than another, but I always steer my own course. That is looking ahead. Realizing a dream is not a straight path upward, but a winding road that you must navigate with agility.

Marlies Dekkers graduated cum laude from the Sint-Joost Academy for Art and Design in Breda in 1991. With a government subsidy, she launched her lingerie collection two years later. Marlies Dekkers designs from her own life philosophy and aims to enhance women’s self-confidence and celebrate the beauty of women. Her motto is, “Dare to dream, dare to grow, dare to be.” She considers the female body her canvas and embraces feminine forms with the graphic lines in her designs. Today, marlies|dekkers has grown into an established brand with 1000 points of sale worldwide. This includes leading department stores such as De Bijenkorf, Selfridges, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford, NK, llum, and Breuninger. Additionally, there are marlies|dekkers stores in cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp. Marlies Dekkers has partnered with international brands such as Fiat, Magnum, and Hunkemöller, leading to great successes.

Marlies Dekkers has won various awards for her lingerie creations and successful entrepreneurship. As early as 1991, she received the Zeebelt Prize for her graduation collection. In 1994, she was followed by the Dutch Bodyfashion Award. The highlight of her work was the museum recognition with a solo exhibition at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam in 1997. In 2004, she was awarded the Elles Innovator of the Year Award. The year 2007 was marked by the Prix Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year. Less than six months later, Marlies won the prestigious CILA Award in New York in the category of Best Fashion Lingerie. In January 2008, she received the Creator of the Year Award from the mayor of Paris. This was followed by a second CILA Award last August, this time in the category of Best Maternity Collection. She proudly ended the year with the Marie Claire Prix de la Mode in the category of Best Fashion Entrepreneur. In 2013, the Rotterdam Promotion Price was awarded to Marlies Dekkers. Books

In 2003, the book 33 propositions was released, combining photos of her lingerie with texts by Meghan Ferril. Beauty, Worship, Eroticism, Ecstasy, Sensuality, and Desire are some of these propositions. She also co-wrote the bestseller Stout – About flirting, success, power, lingerie, and eroticism with Heleen van Royen. Throughout her proven career as the head of the international lingerie brand marlies|dekkers, Marlies shows that her creativity extends beyond designing exceptional lingerie, for example, by opening the Marlies Dekkers Bed & Breakfast. Marlies Dekkers’ current success continues, as do her dreams.