Episode 8

EKKIA
Jul 10
2 min read

🎙Meet Laurine Desserez, CCO of Smoon Lingerie

After a stint at LVMH, Laurine joined the two founders of Smoon in 2022—a brand dedicated to designing high-performance apparel and underwear for women.

Together, they share a bold mission: changing mindsets and breaking taboos.

👉 What’s Smoon’s market positioning?

👉 How has the market responded?

👉 And how did the connection with Ekkia come about?

How does someone with no equestrian background end up selling equestrian sports gear?

I studied at Skema Business School and did internships in the U.S. and Mexico. In 2017, I joined LVMH’s marketing team for Make Up For Ever, where I worked on European launches, negotiations, data analysis, customer experience—you name it.

Then I joined a startup, which gave me a clear understanding of B2B and B2C challenges.

I first connected with Smoon through my network—initially providing advice on business development—before taking the leap and joining in 2022.

As someone from Grenoble, I’m more into skiing than riding and knew little about the equestrian world. But we started getting increasing demand from customers—so here I am!

What is Smoon’s positioning?

A study revealed that 75% of women are dissatisfied with current hygiene protection products. That’s what led our two founders to develop high-tech, technical underwear designed for women.

We worked with textile engineers, sourced the right materials, and partnered with thermo-bonding manufacturers to avoid leaks. That’s how our first menstrual panty, Séléné, was born.

Today, our range supports women through every life stage—periods, pregnancy, menopause, urinary leaks—and through every sport, thanks to their high absorbency, anti-sweat, antibacterial performance, freedom of movement, and invisibility under clothing.

Periods are still a taboo topic. How did the market respond?

Things have changed drastically since Smoon launched. We wanted to treat our absorbent panties like any other product—designed for women who care about their comfort and well-being.

The conversation has opened up, especially around the Olympics: we saw changes in gymnastics leotards, volleyball, swimming, boxing… and now running, cycling, and of course, horseback riding.

Today’s customers are more informed and curious—they no longer just trust blindly. At Smoon, we help them understand the tech behind the product.

How did you connect with Ekkia?

Through Carla, a Smoon intern and experienced rider. Since we didn’t want to focus on just one sport, she mentioned Padd.

I contacted Laetitia Bourdon (Digital & Marketing Director) and then Xavier Darage (Purchasing Director at Ekkia). We first spoke in late January, and by mid-April we were presenting at a Padd seminar with around 50 store managers.

Honestly, I had never worked with such a responsive partner. Everything moved fast: a pre-launch livestream with Ohlala on July 2, point-of-sale activation across 100 Padd stores on July 3, and a presence at the French Championships in La Motte-Beuvron on July 4—with 20,000 visitors.