Barbara Lingerie began with a partnership between Marcel Bena, who owned a knitting workshop in the Pantin district of Paris, and Charles Fossey. An astrologer also known as Fakir Birman, Fossey was an innovator who boasted a stellar social network of important women around the world who fell for his charms. Together, enterprising Bena and Fossey launched Barbara, which was later taken over by Bena’s son in 1945…

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