By finding a marketable middle ground between lingerie and traditionally pretty underwear, this Bushwick designing duo is becoming a changing force in an often stuffy industry sector

By Aisha Classon

Upon complet ing studies at Fashion Institute of Technology in 2011, Daisy Hartmann and Elizabeth NeSmith, unbowed by the jobless generational weight placed upon young graduates, wasted no time in taking square aim at one of the fashion industry’s most competition- filled and expanding areas, the $30 billion worldwide underwear market, specifically its lingerie sector.

Fueled in part through a Kickstarter campaign, the Bushwick residents founded thei r company, Daisy & Elizabeth, on addressing two main faults in the intimate apparel industry: a lack of customer awareness of how and why clothes are made and material-sourced, and the needlessly lurid and contrived way that lingerie is typically executed. The two were just in time to pen compelling solutions to both problems, and rolled out their first collection at Nolcha Fashion Week, 2011. They’ve since branded on the concept that intimate apparel can and should embrace practicality and sex appeal simultaneously, and the duo’s purposeful, uncluttered, athletic lines have been finding an expanding audience ever since.

In f inding a marketable middle ground between practical, pretty underwear and the often theatrically overblown Victoria’s Secret aesthetic, the designers also discovered a thrilling freedom.

“We knew we wanted our clothes to be made here in the city, and for the first three years we essentially made everything we sold in our online shop,” NeSmith said. “Doing that, and not outsourcing to a major label partner designer or a more corporatized structure, meant that we could apply ideas that other lingerie makers just can’t…or won’t.”

Those ideas included playing with “Western influences, rock ‘n roll…even country music themes,” as Hartmann put it. “We had our launch party in June of 2011 in what was then a motorcycle parking garage, so we attribute some of the brand’s aesthetic, particularly in the beginning, to a group of people we met through that place. There was and is a great city vibe that runs through the products.”

Those products now include lingerie staples like bodysuits, bras, and panties, but also camisoles, robes, shorts, slips, and most recently, expanded bridal and swimwear collections. The company’s online store—a main sales portal for the brand—still features mostly lingerie in hues of ivory and black, but a burst of experimentation is in the offing, according to NeSmith.

“We are going for lighter and brighter colors in our spring 2015 line, including vintage ’60s atomic-age metallics, playing with florals and textures in leather, and just extending the whole notion of what intimate apparel is,” she explained. “It’s lovely not being constricted by what we think we should be doing, but going for what we want to do.”

Those restless for a new line before winter’s end will find another novel turn in D&E’s fall 2014 collection, which will accentuate bridal wear, and be, as Hartmann described it, “bohemian and earthy.” Asked how that dynamic will translate to buyers accustomed to lace and mesh, she paused and offered; “It will have a darker but earth-toned palette, and also recombine textures and fabrics… will add, for example, cotton laces instead of just nylon or silk fabric laces… the sort of cottony fabric you would find in a cabin in the woods. Again, just trying not to play it safe.”

As for the swimwear line, a hybridization principle is also at work there.

“Swimwear was always something we wanted to do, and we did have a couple of pieces in an earlier collection, but spring 2014 was really our first production season,” Hartmann added. “People love the silhouettes, partially because we essentially translated the style and shapes of lingerie into swimwear. I like the fact that we have options and freedom to move around and kick it from intimate to swimwear. We keep the underwire and the silhouettes looking like intimate apparel, for example.”

Though its Bushwick studio is the heart of the operation and will be hosting private meetings at the end of July for those seeking custom design, Daisy & Elizabeth has, for the new season, outsourced part of its manufacturing to a factory in the Garment District. The partners recognize the cross-river move as a happy evolution for a growing brand, yet are determined to keep local flavor and influence intact.

“Oh, we’d never go into Manhattan if we didn’t have to,” NeSmith laughed. “But they are a good plant, and treat employees well, and that’s hugely important to us. That said, we’d be hard pressed to find something in the company that isn’t inspired by our everyday lives, specifically in Bushwick. It’s such a cool time to live here. The Bushwick Open Studios happened a couple of weeks ago, and we were able to be a part of that; it’s fascinating to see people open up their ideas… their art and businesses. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s amazing to be part of this area’s transformation, and part of its entrepreneurial vibe.” •

Daisy & Elizabeth
shop.daisyandelizabeth.com