Meet four labels revolutionising your underwear drawer

For many women, underwear is like a rite of passage. We remember our first bras with a fuzzy nostalgia tinged with insecurity, and how they eventually got bigger, inflated with balloon-like padding that smoothed over anxieties about being less grown up than other girls. Pants too were loaded territory, and if you came of age in the era when thongs were intentionally worn above the line of your trousers, you probably remember when you bought your first one. Still, there was a feeling that the underwear we chose wasn't really for ourselves – it often seemed designed to change our bodies, or make them more appealing to the eyes of men. Underwear ads seemed less aimed at selling items to women, more at selling sexualised, perfected female bodies to be gawped at as they smiled down from the sides of busses.

But hand in hand with the rise of new wave feminism, what women are demanding from their underwear drawers is changing. They’re looking for things that suit, rather than seek to change their bodies, garments that are comfortable and practical rather than designed with the male gaze in mind. Admittedly, options remain limited for larger bodied girls or transwomen, but things are certainly moving in the right direction. From inventing period-aborbing pants to running photoshop free campaigns, here are four brands to keep an eye on.

LONELY LINGERIE – @LonelyLingerie

Lonely Lingerie’s brand manifesto is “For women who wear lingerie as a love letter to themselves.” Started by proud feminist Helene Morris, the New Zealand based company’s founding principle was one of “No padding, no push-ups, no thongs” – instead they want to create pieces that are not only beautiful and stylish but comfortable and enjoyable for women to wear. “We’re definitely seeing a trend in women embracing and celebrating their natural shape rather than trying to overtly enhance or hide it, which is wonderful,” Morris says. “Lonely began as an entirely softcup company, and even though we have added underwire and significantly expanded our size range our styles remain free from excessive padding, push up, and uncomfortable linings. This shift has only really become apparent within the lingerie industry in the last few years, it definitely wasn’t an attitude that was widely held when we started Lonely.” 

“Our aim with the project is to represent women in a positive and powerful way. We want to create imagery that is relatable and non-judgemental” – Helene Morris, Lonely Lingerie founder

To help articulate their vision, Lonely have teamed up with artist Petra Collins for campaigns and also developed the Lonely Girls Project, a series of photographs of women in their items, free of photoshop or glamour girl posing. “Our aim with the project is to represent women in a positive and powerful way,” Morris explains. “When we started Lonely we struggled to find brands who were talking solely to women with their imagery, which didn’t seem honest or relevant to us. We want to create imagery that is relatable and non-judgemental – we hope that women engage with Lonely Girls and realise they don’t have to look a certain way to feel beautiful. Lonely is all about celebrating individuality, and each of the women featured have unique stories which are inspiring in different ways.”

NUBIAN SKIN – @NubianSkin

If you want an example of the way Western beauty standards operate on subtle but pervasive levels in society, look at the word nude. For years, ‘nude’ bras have been pale and ‘flesh’ toned – in other words, suitable only for the shades of white women’s skin. Frustrated with the lack of options for women with darker skintones, Ade Hassan founded Nubian Skin, a lingerie company designed to provide bras, underwear and hosiery in a range of ‘nude’ shades that went beyond washed out peach. “I wasn’t able to find what I wanted in shops,” she explains of her decision to start the company. “Nude lingerie and hosiery are the basics of every woman’s wardrobe – at least in theory, so I thought it was time for a different kind of ‘nude’.”

“The heads of most large retail brands are middle-aged, white men. They’re never going to wake up in the morning, put on a sheer blouse and think ‘I could really do with a nude bra for under this.’ It’s not their fault, it’s just their reality” – Ade Hassan, founder of Nubian Skin

Why has there been such a gap in the market? Hassan puts it down to a matter of perspective. “The heads of most large retail brands are middle-aged, white men. They know what sells for them and they’re never going to wake up in the morning, put on a sheer blouse and think ‘I could really do with a nude bra to match my complexion for under this.’ It’s not their fault, it’s just their reality.” The response from Hassan’s customers has, unsurprisingly, been overwhelmingly positive – Nubian Skin is now stocked on ASOS and in retailers such as Nordstrom. But while she may be mastering this market, Hassan is clear that there’s still work to be done for fashion to be truly representative. “If you look at the average fashion magazine and you’re a woman of colour, the chances of you seeing someone who looks like you are much slimmer than if you are not. The industry has definitely come a long way, but there is still a way to go and there’s always room for improvement.”

THINX – @SheThinx

THINX might have been on your radar recently thanks to their ‘controversial campaign’, which was believed too risky for the NYC subway by a mostly male panel. The company are the masterminds behind period-proof pants, patented underwear that is designed to absorb leaks and spills without compromising on style (and which help the environment, cutting down on landfill waste from disposable products). “I did some digging and realised that in the entire 20th century, there has only been three innovations in the $15 Billion feminine hygiene sector,” founder Miki Agrawal explains. “1931: invention of the tampon (by a man), 1969: addition of the adhesive strip to a pad to prevent it from moving around, and 1980s invention of menstrual cup. Why only three innovations in 100 years in a category that women required for the better part of our lives? Because it's taboo. We're proudly doing what should have happened a long time ago.”

“In the entire 20th century, there has only been three innovations in the $15 billion feminine hygiene sector...it’s taboo. We’re proudly doing what should have happened a long time ago” – Miki Agrawal, THINX founder

THINX is committed to breaking that taboo, and not just in the US, where they’re based. “Right now, over 100 million girls in the developing world are still missing a week of school because of their periods and are using things like old rags, leaves, mud, mattress bits to try and manage their period and none of it works so they end up staying at home,” Agrawal explains. “So, what we're doing is for every pair of THINX undies sold, we fund a pack of reusable menstrual pads to girls in Uganda so they can stay in school.” As for those adverts, THINX aren’t backing down. “I think it's time that women came together as a collective and brought light to the sexist double standards that clearly still exist in today's society. Outfront Media approves ads like the this one and tries to say that ours are too suggestive? It was time for someone to speak up about it.”

MARIEYAT – @_MARIEYAT_

Fresh from Central Saint Martins, MARIEYAT is one underwear label to keep an eye on. The Hong Kong born designer Maria Yat creates garments for modern women that are made from natural cottons and created to “embrace the body as a second skin instead of changing its form”. There are no underwires or constricting seams, instead her designs cross into almost genderless territory. Yat’s underwear is about allowing women to embrace their bodies – “Ultimately, we believe empowerment comes from the mind and being honest to yourself,” she explains – which ties in to the way her imagery eschews photoshopping to show models with stretchmarks, scars and all. 

“There are so many different types of women, different needs can be satisfied by different brands. There’s room for everyone!” – Maria Yat, founder MARIEYAT

“Our daily visual feed of various women’s body shapes due to selfie culture is in some respects giving women confidence to be any shape and size,” Yat says on the way the internet is arguably having a positive impact on the way women are coming to view themselves and eachother. She doesn’t think that traditional companies are getting it wrong though. “There are so many different types of women, different needs can be satisfied by different brands. There’s room for everyone!”