Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to someone you love (or yourself) to new lingerie — the tiny gift can feel meaningful in a big way to a loved one, and remind them of you with each wear, even when you’re not there. This year, skip the fast fashion, mass-produced sets for something more special: handmade underwear from independent designers who prioritize values like sustainability, inclusivity and quality craftsmanship.
Whether you’re drawn to delicate lacy things, organic cotton briefs or bold bondage, these eight brands prove that beautiful underwear can be both sexy and socially responsible (they also make perfect options for the pantless trend).
From punk-inspired hardware to vintage-style bloomers, the designs from these brands are redefining underwear with thoughtful craftsmanship and production. Keep scrolling to see (and shop) them all.
Le Boudoir Los Angeles
Le Boudoir Los Angeles La Chacha Tanga, $75, available here
Founder Clemence Parienté Lorenzetti opened the doors to her intimates shop, Le Boudoir Los Angeles, in 2022. Today, the company comprises both a boutique — attracting the coolest of ‘It’ girls to its velvet-covered dressing rooms in Echo Park — and a lingerie line dedicated to timeless, quality pieces made with care.
Originally launched as a store curating only female-owned brands, Le Boudoir expanded into design in 2024, with Lorenzetti crafting delicate, frilly tangas (or briefs) from deadstock cotton and silk carefully sourced from Paris and L.A. Inspired by the historic boudoir — a private retreat for women — the French brand embraces comfort, beauty and effortless wearability. Each piece is handmade in L.A. with an emphasis on “eco-conscious” practices and size inclusivity.
“Despite stocking many brands of frilly undies, I couldn’t find one that truly flattered all body types,” says Lorenzetti of the impetus for getting into design. “[Ours are] super comfortable — [they] can be worn high- or low-waisted and never cut into the hips. It’s incredibly flattering on every shape.”
Zhilyova
Zhilyova Scoprio G-String, $39, available here
Founded in 2014 in Kyiv, Ukraine by Valeria Zhilyova, this intimates brand has become known for its wearable pieces that are meant to be seen (perfect for the lingerie as clothes trend). It’s cultivated a celebrity fandom (Kourtney Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Doja Cat, Rosalia, Julia Fox, Latto, to name just a few) for its architectural tailoring and unique accessories.
“We take lingerie seriously — both as an art form and as a technical craft,” the founder tells Fashionista via email. “Zhilyova doesn’t follow the typical lingerie rules. Our pieces are meant to be layered, styled, integrated into everyday life — not just hidden under clothing.”
With dainty details like Chantilly lace and edgy, body piercing-like hardware, the brand is beloved for its soft-but-strong aesthetic. It runs all creative and technical direction in-house and produces its garments in Kyviv.
Nette Rose
Nette Rose Sheri High Leg Knicker, €30, available here
Founded in 2016 by then-fashion design student Megan Miller, Nette Rose is a South African lingerie brand that celebrates bold femininity, “ethical” craftsmanship and the power of dressing for oneself. Miller launched the brand during her first year of fashion studies, funding it by selling vintage clothing at markets before handcrafting her first samples out of vintage coats.
Named after her two “groovy, stylish and sensational grandmothers,” Nette and Rose, the independent brand is committed to sustainability: All production happens under one roof in its Cape Town studio. Best known for the beloved Bonnie set, the brand refuses to re-touch its model imagery, embracing imperfect beauty with a playful, adventurous spirit that echoes the brand’s mission statement: “We love to say our lingerie won’t change the world, but our babes who wear it will,” Miller tells Fashionista.
Cosette Di Ames
Cosette Di Ames Bambi Ruffle Thong, $28, available here
Founded in July 2024 by Amy Huynh, Cosette di Ames is a lingerie brand that aims to redefine femininity as a statement of strength. Born in Vietnam, Huynh studied engineering at Columbia University before going in a different direction: creating a brand where delicate silks and lace demand the same precision as coding.
Known for signature pieces like romantic corsets and ethereal bloomers, Cosette di Ames blends retro elegance with “ethical” craftsmanship. Every piece is handmade in the brand’s Hanoi, Vietnam production house, ensuring quality, sustainability (GOTS-certified fabrics) and meticulous attention to detail. The name, meaning “Little Things from Amy” in French, reflects the brand’s ethos — intimate, meaningful designs that celebrate individuality. With a vision rooted in empowerment, Cosette di Ames proves that choosing softness (and shopping small) is a power move.
The End Label
The End Carnival Heart Cutout Briefs, $42, available here
Founded in 2016, The End Label was born when Bei Kuo “couldn’t find any eco-friendly lingerie that felt exciting and unique.” Beloved for its rebellious aesthetic crafted with delicate details, the brand comes from a powerhouse of a founder. Kuo runs every aspect of the business — from design and production to marketing and customer service — ensuring her vision of inclusivity, innovation and uncompromising quality remains at the heart of the brand.
Best known for the Carrie Bralette, famously worn by Lily-Rose Depp in “The Idol,” the brand crafts each piece in small batches in Dalina, China, with “ethically” sourced materials from Taiwan, ensuring high workplace standards. In other words, every piece from this socially conscious brand is made with love, guaranteed. No wonder it’s racked up celebrity fans like Kali Uchis and Tinashe.
Highly Liquid
Highly Liquid Delusional Thong, $26, available here
Founded by Izzy Howell, Highly Liquid is a New York-based lingerie brand redefining intimates with irreverence, inclusivity and inside jokes only the internet would understand. What started in early 2022 as a joke among Howell’s corporate job, quickly evolved into a viral sensation.
The brand’s signature pieces, like the ‘Deny, Defend, Depose’ and ‘Yes, Chef’ cotton thongs, blend vintage-inspired silhouettes with edgy, meme-driven statements that shoppers with a sense of humor seem to love. Every piece is crafted by hand in NYC or Los Angeles, using organic cotton, deadstock silk and artist-printed fabrics. The brand has gained cult status for its empowering self-expression, philanthropy (20% of the thong’s profits are donated to the PAN Foundation) and dressing beyond the male gaze.
“Highly Liquid’s underwear is made for the unhinged, internet-native, grungy party girl who lives life on her own terms and looks hot while doing it,” says the founder. “[The brand] straddles the line of art and social commentary, and is designed to put female-identifying individuals at the front and center of their narratives with pieces that are fun, sexy and anything but boring.” The brand has established itself as the go-to, size-inclusive label for the sex-positive, unapologetic party girl. Keep an eye out for upcoming launches, including bras and swimwear.
Entos Lingerie
Entos Ette Pantie, $75, available here
A mother-and-daughter duo (Fernanda Mena, 28, and Julia González, 55), created Entos after Mena was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, spearheading her obsession with lingerie and exploring a new way for women to embrace their bodies. The brand is beloved for its exquisite bridal lingerie in particular.
Shoppers can expect body-hugging silhouettes, delicate embroidery, high-end finishes and luxurious materials like mulberry silk. Produced by the family’s manufacturing business in Mexico, each piece is hand-crafted by and for women. Its name “Entos” is inspired by the Greek word for “inside,” reflecting the belief that self-esteem and confidence start from within.
Noblesse Oblige
Noblesse Oblige Royal Solstice Tie Side, €39, available here
Noblesse Oblige is a size-inclusive brand (up to 4X) dedicated to an “ethical” supply chain with a low CO2 footprint, small runs of production and experienced engineering to get quality fabrics to affordable levels. In that way, the label is truly unique in its commitment to quality and accessibility.
“The brand was conceptualized in 2015 in the Kempinski hotel in Bansko, Bulgaria,” founder Igor Pachemski tells Fashionista. She was frustrated with a lack of affordable, cool lingerie on the market at the time. The name, Noblesse Oblige, is an ode to the book the founder read in her youth at English boarding school: “I felt [it] perfectly described how my taste was formed over the years.”
The label’s studio is in Skopje, North Macedonia, where the higher-end pieces are made by hand, and also uses a manufacturing plant in Serbia. The knitwear is done by a collection of women knitters by Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia who also knit for labels like Loewe and Balenciaga. Each of the brand’s manufacturing sites are SMETA-audited and certified, which ensures a living wage for workers.
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Source: Fashionista.com
