Inside Padma Lakshmi's Sexy Lingerie Line and Photo Shoot: 'I Feel More Confident Today Than in My 20s' (Exclusive)

When it came to collaborating on her new lingerie line with Bare Necessities, Padma Lakshmi knew the recipe she wanted to follow.

“A line that is both comfortable to wear but also alluring, sexy and feminine,” the 53-year-old chef, author, and television host tells PEOPLE. “This is a collection that’s designed for women.”  

The result is Padma x Bare Necessities, a new 19-piece capsule featuring lingerie, loungewear and bathing suits, launching June 6.

Highlights include a one-piece, rash guard zip-up swimsuit straight out of a James Bond film, lacy low-cut bras, “cheeky underwear,” cover-ups in chiffon and cashmere, and a drop dead sexy (and slinky!) dress that comes in both electric fuchsia and black.

“I wanted to design a line that made women feel sexy and pretty and confident,” she says. “Whether they were alone in their dressing room or if they were with somebody else and wanted to look a little extra special.”

“It’s a very intimate article of clothing,” adds Lakshmi. “I’m talking directly to women who have the same needs that I do. We all want to feel attractive. We all want to be comfortable.”

She also paid special attention to curvy women with a larger bust size.

“I wanted to have a lower-cut bra that separated the boobs so that it would still look lovely when I wore something low cut,” Lakshmi says. “Often you’re in a bind as a larger woman. If you wear something low cut, it looks really provocative because your boobs are up there. But if you wear something high-neck, it can also make you look really square. It just closes you off. So, you have to be a bit strategic in how much you show.”

When it came time for the photo shoot, Lakshmi, who modeled lingerie in her twenties while living in Europe, says, “If you had told me even at 35 that I would be doing this, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“It feels like a nice reinforcement when confronted with all of the other aspects of aging that women go through in our society,” she adds.

The results, seen here exclusively, speak for themselves. “I feel more confident today than I did when I actually looked perkier, tighter, smaller, in my twenties,” Lakshmi says with a laugh. “So, I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

As for prep ahead of the shoot, she says, “I didn’t want to reduce my size. I just wanted to be toned. That has to do with exercise. So, I would do the rowing machine, the treadmill, the elliptical. I went to the gym like crazy. I did cardio. I had a lot of lymphatic drainage massages. I just took care of myself. Drank a lot of water. I did eat healthy. I didn’t reduce my calorie intake. I just ate really wholesome food, which I try to do anyway, but I wasn’t crazy about it.”

And she tried to keep it real. “I said ‘Don’t take out my scar, and don’t take out my inoculation mark, and do not take out the stretch marks on my thigh and bottom,’” she notes, “because I have them.”

”I wouldn’t change having that body and that resume of that 23-year-old, with having the resume I do at 53 with the body of a 53-year-old,” she says. “I would much rather stay right where I am. I think that’s really important to tell girls and young women. But that’s really what gave me confidence.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

It’s something she wants to highlight in the new collection — knowing and owning what you want.

“When I look at lingerie and decide what to put on in the morning, if I like what I look like, then anyone else who I may encounter disrobed would like it! It’s never about what you wear, it’s about how you feel. And if you feel good in it, you’ll move in a more inviting, attractive way.”

“For me, I am a very tactile person,” she says. “I don’t want women to be uncomfortable and feel like they have to suffer to look sexy. Suffering isn’t sexy at all.”

As she puts it, “Women of my age are so much more in control, are so much more confident about who they are as human beings and lingerie should also reflect that.”

The Padma x Bare Necessities collaboration launches June 6 at barenecessities.com.