The Startup World Is Coming for Your Underwear Drawer

Ask any woman where the real skeletons are in her closet, and she could conceivably point you to her underwear drawer, where the rayon thong she wore the night she went to third base in tenth grade has somehow retained its occupancy. Needless to say, a typical underwear drawer is what confusion looks like in sartorial form. It houses an alarmingly vast array of different shapes, colors, brands, and styles, tattered granny panties, the occasional period stain that remains despite numerous washes, and other questionable specimens. It’s the opposite of streamlined. It’s also proof that the $15B underwear industry is ripe for disruption.

I realize that particular phrase has been bandied about often enough over the last few years that its meaning has dulled, but it’s the most accurate way to describe the state of intimates in 2019. I could easily make an emphatic case for my favorite brand of jeans, or swimsuits, or oat milk, or cellular device, but underwear? I haven’t a clue. This sense of bewilderment (not to mention lack of brand loyalty) is likely why a number of underwear startups have gained traction over the last few years.

The models look sexy not because they are half-naked or posing in overtly suggestive ways, but rather because they look comfortable and self-assured.

If you’ve spent time in downtown Manhattan recently, you’ve probably walked past giant wheatpaste ads announcing the launch of Parade, a startup whose mission–as stated on its website–is to “rewrite the American underwear story.” The posters themselves paint a picture of how the brand is trying to do that, showcasing models of different sizes (Parade’s sizing goes up to a 3X) without a single pair of skin-colored underwear in sight (though Parade underwear does come in black, the emphasis is placed on their technicolor offering). Notably, the models look sexy not because they are half-naked or posing in overtly suggestive ways, but rather because they look comfortable and self-assured–a decided contrast to classic Victoria’s Secret advertisements of yore.

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Parade makes Creative Basics—expressive underwear in soft, sustainable fabrics.