British woman launches first transgender lingerie brand for those wishing to 'tuck' in their genitals
A designer has launched the first underwear range that has been specifically designed for transgender women. 27-year-old Carmen Liu, a former ballet dancer from London who came out as a transgender in 2014, launched her own brand, called Carmen Liu Lingerie, in England's capital last week.
According to Huff Post, Liu, despite having no prior experience in designing, came up with the idea for her line after she realized the options on the market for pre-surgery transgender women were less than satisfactory.
Before her line, the only underwear option readily available for pre-op trans women wishing to "tuck" in their genitals was a transgender gaff made of swimwear fabric and commercial elastic, an arrangement Liu said was "reminiscent of Borat's mankini" — it could be worn below underwear designed for cisgender women but isn't always comfortable.
Tired of feeling "undesired and unaccepted," Liu launched Carmen Liu Lingerie, which are made out of Italian satin and cotton gusset, and are designed to be "delicate, feminine, and sexy." With prices starting at just £15.40 ($20), they also give transgender women the freedom to tuck without wearing anything underneath, and can be bought easily online.
Speaking to Pink News, Liu said she burst into tears the first time she tried on her own lingerie. "The feeling of the cotton against my skin was just something I've never experienced, whilst I'm actually able to look in the mirror and see something that resembles cisgender lingerie, but it's also tucking what I need to tuck and it feels comfortable," she said.
Liu shared how she would now like to see other established, high end and high street brands doing more for their trans customers. "They’ll put us on the runway to say that they’re inclusive, but then they’re not actually making any products that are specifically for trans women, because we do have specific needs when it comes to clothing," she told Huff Post.
"We do sometimes have different bodies — the shape of our bodies doesn’t always work with cis female clothes — so it would be nice to see some brands go a bit further to help us."
The 27-year-old also said it would make a big difference to the trans community if such products were made more common in stores. "I think that’s very important for trans women to feel accepted. If they can go into any high street store and see the lingerie there, they’re going to feel that people do acknowledge them now — they don’t have to buy it online and feel all secretive about it," she explained.
However, Liu's not the only one working towards trans-friendly fashion. Huff Post reported that US-based Rebirth Garments is producing trans-inclusive swimwear and underwear and that UK-based Jessa Blac is revolutionizing the world of make-up by introducing products like foundation designed to cover beard stubble.
