Highly Liquid & The Language of Lingerie
In Conversation with Designer, Izzy Howell
By Calli Ferguson
photo by Kelli Mcguire
The word ‘subversive’ is stitched into the DNA of NYC artist-owned lingerie brand, Highly Liquid. “That's how I imagine my customer either is or aspires to be...” the brand’s designer and founder, Izzy Howell, told me, “…she's really going after what she wants and not caring about what feathers she's ruffling in the process.”
Highly Liquid feels like it was written in the stars for Howell, but she didn’t set out to launch a lingerie brand. It started as a laugh— after a late-night crypto conversation, the phrase highly liquid struck her as the perfect irreverent statement to slap on women’s underwear.
Today, the brand has many other witty, vintage-inspired thongs and lingerie collections. They’re to-die-for stylish and satisfyingly clever. But beyond that, Highly Liquid also carves out space in a market that often feels binary: lingerie made for the male gaze or women-owned brands focused solely on comfort. "I feel like there is a middle ground,” Howell explains, “which is about feeling really hot and empowered, but doing that from a female lens."
This kind of thoughtful intention comes through Highly Liquid garments from design to production. Even so far as to not let the overused term, “sustainable”, dilute the authenticity of the values and process at play. It’s a refreshing take in the ‘sustainable fashion’ space— to opt for real choices over empty brand ID labels.
The result of all this? A lingerie brand that doesn’t just challenge norms—it flips them inside out, wears them like a badge of honor, and invites a reclamation of gaze and pleasure. Undeniably sexy and cathartically subversive.
Read our full interview with Izzy Howell on Highly Liquid, language, underwear, NYC artists, and the subversive wearer below…
Calli: How did you get into designing and why lingerie?
Izzy: I always loved making clothes. I went to a Waldorf school for elementary school, and it had a big focus on handcrafts. So instead of growing up and playing video games, I had a spinning wheel and a loom, and I was always making yarn and fabric from scratch.
I loved textiles and fibers and was really inspired by that. And I wanted to work in fashion– specifically old-school fashion media, like Conde Naste. But that world kind of died— I mean, it's still around, but it's just not the same. So I had no idea what I was gonna do. I fell into the crypto world in 2020 and really loved it. Then in 2022, I was up really late at night with these crypto bros who were screaming about liquidity, and I thought it would be really funny to put the words “highly liquid” on women's underwear. I just started making them, and people wanted to buy them.
photo by Kelli Mcguire
It was so crazy. I was getting so much support from everyone in the crypto industry. A bunch of my friends in that space were encouraging me to start a women's wear brand that was— I hate the word “edgy”— but I guess that's the way to describe it. It’s something more brazen, more honest, and authentic, and internet native.
Because I feel like with lingerie, there's this weird thing, still, where stuff is made for the male gaze, but then the stuff that's made “by women, for women” is less about being sexy and owning your sexuality. And I feel like there is a middle ground, which is about feeling really hot and empowered, but doing that from a female lens. That's the space that we try to occupy with Highly Liquid.
“... I was up really late at night with these crypto bros who were screaming about liquidity, and I thought it would be really funny to put the words “highly liquid” on women’s underwear. I just started making them, and people wanted to buy them. ”
I love that so much. Using words on underwear is so interesting, too, because it's either totally personal or shared very intimately. There's a part of what you’re doing with words that’s fun and silly with pop culture references, but there's also something about having that on the body that feels empowering– like a reclamation of the gaze.
Yeah. I'm a writer and just a very communicative person. And, like you said, I love this idea of messaging that's on a piece of clothing that so few people see. It's just really so fun to me.
It's interesting too, because I feel like I've worked with people, or have friends who are really inspired by the ‘mysterious girl’ archetype. Like Alexa Chung, who obviously has amazing style, but we don't know her opinions about anything. She never says anything, right? And I don't identify with that at all; I am always making statements. This idea of statement lingerie didn't really exist, and to your point, it's about sharing these statements in a very intimate way. I think that there is something really interesting about that.
How do you come up with ideas for the words or phrases you use?
They’re very, very spur of the moment. I'm usually scrolling and see a trend start and think, “Oh, I want to put that on underwear”.
With the Deny, Defend, Depose panties, right away, I was like, “I have to make underwear with this”. And I wasn’t going to make them unless I donated to charity in some way— it's not something I want to be directly capitalizing on, you know? So that was always part of the idea. I was back and forth on it for a few days. And I posted on my story: “Would anyone buy this?” The model for my medieval shoot DM’d me, “Please make this right now”. I wasn't expecting to get that response– I got like, 10 DM’s like that. And then made it.
I was explaining to my friend how I think that's my weird talent: putting words on underwear. It's how I think.
It's funny hearing you talk about that, knowing you’re a writer and interested in fashion media too, because that actually makes a lot of sense to me. I think that a lot of great culture writers also think that way: picking up little pop culture buzzes and things in the zeitgeist.
Yeah, I just feel like it really is me being me! And to your point, I did intern at Conde and at Teen Vogue in college, and I noticed a lot of the editors and writers would even talk like that– like everything they said was a buzzy thing.
“a lot of what Highly Liquid is about, is flipping norms on their head... I really want to do is spark this conversation around female pleasure and owning yourself in the bedroom and saying what you want.”
Uh huh! Another thing while we’re on the topic of writing and words… I noticed on your website there are three words: “Sustainable, Sexy, and Subversive.” Is that right? And I love the word “subversive”. I’d love to unpack what that means to you in this context.
Thank you. I'm really glad that you brought that up. A lot of what Highly Liquid is about, is flipping norms on their head. And I think in our culture, there’s this understanding of “all guys want is sex”, and it's always about the guy orgasming, and girls aren't doing that as much…
But what I really want to do is spark this conversation around female pleasure and owning yourself in the bedroom and saying what you want. I think that is a subversive idea too. It’s kind of an underpinning of the brand, and that's how I imagine my customer either is or aspires to be. [There’s] also the idea that she's still carrying that sort of subversive way of living in every aspect of her life– she's really going after what she wants and not caring about what feathers she's ruffling in the process.
Oh, I’m obsessed. That spirit totally comes through in the design too. I also want to unpack the nuance of a “sustainable” fashion line. Could you walk us through your production process and the choices that go into actually having a sustainable garment brand?
I definitely think that “sustainable” is a buzzword that doesn't even mean anything anymore. Right now on the site, the sustainability page is blank because I'm rewriting it (and relaunching the whole website). But I want to define what it means for me and my brand.
I look at it in three buckets: The first is I use fabric that is completely organic. Like organic silk and organic cotton, which is just 100% biodegradable, degrades very quickly in landfills, and the carbon impact is very low. It's also the best for vaginal health— I know organic cotton underwear is something people specifically look for. So organic fabrics are the first bucket. The next one is using deadstock fabrics. When I use synthetic fabrics, they're either deadstock or from small businesses. That's the third bucket: The brand is very hell-bent on supporting artists. [We] buy fabric from small Etsy businesses, or work with local artists in Brooklyn to create the designs on the fabric… things like that.
““sustainable” is a buzzword that doesn’t even mean anything anymore.”
And then, currently, everything's made in the US. I have one garment worker in LA, and I sew everything else. It is not… “sustainable”. Pun intended. So how to expand? Because a lot of very angry customers have been waiting for their stuff for forever!
Yeah. I mean, that's super challenging. And I think that's part of the reason there's such an issue with greenwashing.
I'm so over it. I almost don't even want to call it a ‘sustainable’ brand anymore. The word doesn't even mean anything. So I [am] playing with the idea of “artist-owned” or something, I don't know, just something else…
Has designing and producing that way changed how you consume?
Oh definitely. I only buy from small businesses. I love supporting my friends, and other people I've met on this journey who are designers. And then all thrift or secondhand. And I just don't shop a lot now. I like to make my own stuff. I'm really excited because dresses are coming out. I'm definitely a dress girl– so we’re gonna be coming out with new dresses and stuff soon. So excited.
photos by Kelli McGuire
I'd love to hear more about some of the local artists that you've worked with and collaborated with or met within the New York City scene... Anything you would recommend that readers check out?
Oh, awesome. Yes, my friend Allie — Eventyr Verden is her brand. She's incredible. And her original art is actually on some of the medieval thongs. Like the Unicorn Thong and the Angel Blade Thong. That was her idea to do that. I really love those pieces. And then also my friend Maram from her small brand called Corn Star, she does a bunch of medieval printing for me. We're gonna do a collab coming up soon too, which I'm excited for!
What inspired the medieval collection?
It's a really crazy story. I was feeling very creatively drained. And in October, I went on a date with this guy. And for almost all of last year, I didn't listen to music– I only listened to podcasts or books when I was working on stuff. And it was so weird, the day after our first date, I just desperately needed to listen to music. I walked around the city all day listening to The Violent Femmes and Chappell Roan and Nine Inch Nails. The next day, I woke up and was like, “Oh, I want to make a medieval collection!” It was very random. That guy is my boyfriend now, and is helping with all the operations and stuff.
Photos by kelli mcguire
Wow! It creatively reset you!
Izzy: It really did! I tell him all the time that he's my muse.
So sweet. The collection is so cool— I didn't know the prints were by local artists.
Izzy: Thank you. Yeah, some of them are. The Scripture set has art from St. Hildegard, who I really love. She's this amazing nun from the 1100s. She was a polymath, and spoke all these languages, did healing arts, and was an amazing vocalist and musician. She did all this stuff for women's rights in the church, and she's just such a badass. So I wanted to include her art. It’s so funny, some people were very upset that I put her work on underwear. But I think she'd be really down for it!
Totally - that’s funny. I’m also curious– as an independent designer with a small business in the city, is there anything that is particularly challenging about that space?
Izzy: Well, the thing I love about doing this here is that it's really collaborative. I love meeting other artists and learning from them. Like Allie, and then my friend Ruby from Orchard, whose girlfriend is from Corn Star. They've taught me so much and have been so kind. So that's really cool.
The biggest challenge is people don't know how much work goes into stuff. Like, I can't do pop-ups anymore. It's just too hard on my body– carrying the table, standing there all day, and talking to people. It's too much for me. Especially with me sewing all the stuff… I'm bent over on the floor eight hours a day, cutting fabric, sewing– it’s a lot on my body.
The best part of creative work in NYC is often the collaborative part— the people you meet. But it's New York and sometimes there's a lack of space. So, if not pop-ups, are you retailing in store or E commerce only?
Izzy: Yes definitely. And I say no pop-ups but I'm doing one next week at Wolf and Badger. But I definitely want to continue retail. The thing with my stuff that's challenging from a retail perspective is it's $30 thongs— it's not something that you sold for $200, so I really don't like doing consignment. It's just not worth it to me. I would do wholesale— my stuff sells so quickly in-store, that's the thing! So I definitely want to do more retail and expand on Instagram.
And where do you retail now?
Izzy: Right now we're at Other People's Clothes and working on some new places for this year. Wolf and Badger too.
Awesome. Can you tell us about anything else coming up?
Izzy: I'm really excited for bras! They're coming soon, I can’t wait.
What styles are you doing (if you want to share)?
Izzy: I really want to do a balconette. I want to do an underwire bra, and a bralette all with hand-printed mesh. Because that's what I really want. And I'm not buying any new bras until I make them– like a bra strike.
But yeah, bras are coming. Swim is coming, and slip dresses.
Super exciting. And is there something about the vintage styles in particular that you're drawn to?
Izzy: Definitely, I think it's the silhouette. I love that vintage stuff is about fitting so many different body types and really finding ways to make everyone look and feel good. We’re size inclusive, from size XS to 5XL. And every silhouette that I design is done with the idea that within that size range, everyone should feel awesome in the piece.
