Sexy Lingerie Designed for Women, by Women

Preaching the mantra of “Treat Yourself,” founders Marissa Vosper and Lauren Schwab of Negative Underwear make underwear for the confident woman who doesn‘t need ostentatious adornments to distract from her innate allure. In subverting the male gaze, Negative Underwear is unlike anything on the market: sexy and comfortable. (Even Miley Cyrus is a fan.) We spoke with the founders about their design process, Instagram and their message to empower women.

Harper’s BAZAAR: So first things first, where did the name Negative Underwear come from?

Marissa Vosper: So the name comes from a few different reference points. The brand is based around the idea of removing unnecessary elements and focusing on the negative space. In creating the brand and the collection, we were looking at the lingerie landscape and trying to challenge the status quo by operating in places that other people weren‘t.

HB: What do you think is most important in designing sexy lingerie for women?

Lauren Schwab: We think is so important that the woman who is wearing the underwear feels confident and good about herself. So much of that has to do with comfort, rather than the embellishments and adornments that are often found on lingerie. 

HB: So Valentine‘s day is coming up, how do you guys prepare for the perfect date?

LS: We love to promote the mantra of “Treat Yourself,“ and the most important person to love on Valentine‘s Day is yourself! Valentine‘s day is a great opportunity for to do those little things that maybe you don‘t normally do. Personally, I love getting facials and because I never get to do that. Having that sort of treat makes me feel special.

HB: So let‘s talk about Miley Cyrus. She posted some photos of herself wearing one of your bodysuits.

MV: We are continuously humbled and inspired by the women who wear our brand and choose to support us. With Miley specifically, it wasn‘t the result of any sort of publicist or stylist placement. We gifted it to her at a photo shoot and she wore it out of her own volition. I think that to us is the biggest testament. No one asked her to do it. She just really liked the product, so it felt really incredible!

HB: Are there any celebrities you guys are inspired by that you would love to see wearing some of your products?

LS: Absolutely Beyoncé! We feel like she is the embodiment of female strength and bravery. She would be an epic celebrity to have in one of our products.

HB: Since your brand is all about celebrating a woman‘s body, what are your thoughts on Instagram‘s no female nipple policy?

MV: It‘s really funny to get into the world of social media and learn what is acceptable and not acceptable. We are trying to put forward a message that underwear does not have to be about seducing someone else. It can be about making you feel good in your own skin and since women have boobs and nipples, that is a part of it. We can appreciate why the boundaries are unclear when it comes to all things the Internet. We are certainly not trying to put out a message that is lewd or pornographic in any way shape or form. Actually, we are trying to de-stigmatize lingerie and make it feel more quotidian and more normal. Which is why we practice what we preach: we are all about Free the Nipple. Women have beautiful bodies and we don‘t need to feel embarrassed about them.

HB: Can you tells us more about your #SupportTheGirls campaign?

MV: Since we started Negative, Lauren and I felt like we needed to create a brand that had a very different marketing message in the world. So much of lingerie communicates in a very antiquated way that a woman is shown as an object on a bed for a man‘s pleasure—we wanted to communicate very opposite message. Underwear is something you wear to feel good in your own skin everyday. #SupportTheGirls was a huge part of that message. We gathered a group of our female friends across the ages of 20-65 to wear bras across our size range. We photographed with the help of Jen Steele from Girls I Know, a great blog with a message about empowering women. This was an important way to capture the beauty of women across different ages and sizes and to show that everyone can feel confident in their underwear, if you‘re wearing good underwear.

HB: How did you guys decide to design underwear together?

LS: We met when we were freshman in college, and were very good friends throughout. When we graduated we went into different careers, but we kept coming back to the fact that we love fashion and wanted to find our way in the industry. We started taking night classes, like design and product development, at FIT for fun. We loved fashion, but actually didn‘t spend much time thinking about what we wore underneath. So having absolutely no lingerie experience we spent about four years, while we were working full-time in our other jobs, doing tons of research and product development. Learning from the ground up, we wanted to create a brand that women like us could covet.

HB: As female entrepreneurs who left their day job for their dream job, what advice do you have for young girls?

MV: We were raised a part of the generation that were told as women, you could do anything you want and be anything you want. I think our mothers were raised in a generation that were encouraged to marry anyone you want. [laughs] Laura and I came into the working world with ambition and drive, and I think starting a business is a great example of that. You can take a leap and really prove what you are capable of. Find something that you are truly passionate about to throw yourself into because you‘re going to work at it 24/7. You want to quickly asses if it‘s a hobby or a career and you must be willing to sacrifice other parts of your life in order to make it happen.

LS: Doing my research was really important to me. Its easy to have an idea, but understanding why its different is really important. The second piece is perseverance because every aspect of starting a business is really hard. There are so many roadblocks that will try to deter you, but if you really want to do this, you have to just continue pushing forward despite the number of challenges or people telling you you cannot.

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