For years, the mainstream lingerie market has been shaped by narrow beauty standards and cisnormativity, with little room for gender diversity. Most lingerie is designed to fit cisgender female bodies, while trans people are often forced to go DIY with uncomfortable solutions like pantyhose, duct tape and ill-fitting shapewear.
That’s part of what motivated Karyn Elizabeth to found Zhe, a lingerie brand designed for the transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) community.
I’ve had people send messages saying they finally feel comfortable in their own skin, or that it’s the first time lingerie has made them feel affirmed instead of dysphoric.
“Zhe was inspired out of love, necessity and a little bit of frustration with the status quo,” Elizabeth explains. “In 2014, when my daughter shared that she was transgender, I wanted to take her shopping and help her find affirming clothing — but lingerie was a huge sticking point. When she shared with me the DIY measures that some trans women take, I knew I needed to step in and help her. Mainstream lingerie is made with one kind of body in mind, and it just didn’t reflect the needs or beauty of the TGNC community.”
On shopping trips with her daughter, Elizabeth recalls, the few available options were either “hyper-fetishized, wildly uncomfortable or just totally uninspired.”
Zhe officially launched in 2021, with the goal of creating lingerie that is as affirming as it is functional.
“Every seam, every fabric choice, every design detail had to say: ‘You belong here. You deserve to feel beautiful,’” says Elizabeth, who sees lingerie as both literally and emotionally intimate.
“It’s often the first thing we put on, and it has the power to shape how we feel about ourselves all day,” she observes. “I wanted that feeling to be one of confidence, softness, strength — whatever the wearer needs it to be. That’s the heart of Zhe.”
As a mom to a trans daughter, Elizabeth’s perspective is deeply personal. Her passion is driven by a mother’s love, advocacy and a desire to create safer, more affirming spaces for the TGNC community, starting with the clothing closest to our skin.
“I envision Zhe as a love letter to every trans woman who has ever felt pressured to shrink, hide or settle for ill-fitting undergarments,” she says. “You deserve better, and we’re here to help create it.”
Before founding Zhe, Elizabeth was a stay-at-home mom. The brand is very much a one-woman show, and while she admits that being a full-time entrepreneur isn’t always easy, building such a meaningful project from the ground up, for a community she cares so much about, makes it all worthwhile for her. Amid the current wave of anti-trans legislation and rhetoric, Elizabeth believes that small acts of self-love and affirmation are more powerful than ever, and that gender-affirming lingerie can help people reclaim joy, comfort and dignity during difficult times.
Design-wise, aesthetics were a top priority.
“I wanted Zhe to look like lingerie you’d see in a boutique window: gorgeous, stylish and confidence-boosting,” Elizabeth recalls. “But behind the scenes? Sneaky functionality doing all the heavy lifting.”
With TGNC folks often forced to compromise or settle for pieces that don’t fit their style, finding the right blend of comfort and affirming beauty was paramount for Elizabeth, whose approach is to honor different bodies without trying to “fix” them. Instead of just adjusting existing styles, she set out to build a new kind of lingerie from the ground up, thoughtfully created with trans women’s bodies and needs in mind.
That means tucking underwear that supports rather than squeezes, and bralettes that fit properly without padding the wearer doesn’t want. Zhe’s tucking underwear, which sparked the entire brand, is made of high-performance compression fabric that also provides breathable comfort and all-day support. Meanwhile, wider bands, soft fabrics, high-rise cuts and strategic mesh placements prioritize gender euphoria.
Zhe’s signature offering is the Wicked Collection, which Elizabeth describes as “bold, high femme and unapologetically sexy, with a sexy lace and dramatic cut that celebrates the body, not hides it.”
“It’s the kind of lingerie you wear when you want to feel powerful,” she adds.
The brand’s bestseller is the Bella bra and panty, which are ultra-soft, stretchy and wearable, combining everyday comfort with a touch of elegance. Zhe is also in the early stages of developing binders for transmasculine folks. Elizabeth’s biggest goal for the future is to become as accessible as possible, with as many sizes, price points and design options as possible for trans, nonbinary and gender-expansive people at different points in their journey.
Elizabeth’s determination is buoyed by the heartfelt support she’s received from the TGNC community.
“I’ve had people send messages saying they finally feel comfortable in their own skin, or that it’s the first time lingerie has made them feel affirmed instead of dysphoric,” she shares. “I’ve cried happy tears reading some of the emails and DMs. The support, the feedback, the love — it’s been overwhelming in the best way.”
Collaborating directly with the TGNC community has also been a cornerstone of the brand and has offered invaluable insights. During the design process, Elizabeth works closely with transgender women and models to do fittings, get honest feedback and make adjustments. She’s also gained feedback by gifting pieces to prominent TGNC content creators like Rose Montoya.
Launching Zhe didn’t come without challenges. Originally set to launch as the pandemic hit, Elizabeth dealt with supply-chain issues and delayed timelines, complicated further by the fact that most factories were unfamiliar with the needs she was trying to address. As a result, issues like incorrect samples and communication breakdowns would arise. Finding the right fabrics also took time, as they needed to be strong enough for support, but soft enough for everyday wear.
For Elizabeth, all the effort was worth it in the end. She hopes that Zhe can act as a bridge, showing the fashion industry and the lingerie world what’s possible when you design with inclusivity, care and real community input.
“For too long, the TGNC community has been completely left out of the conversation when it comes to design, fit and representation,” she says. “They’ve been handed scraps or expected to ‘make it work’ with pieces that were never made for them in the first place. My dream is that Zhe helps change that, not just by offering affirming lingerie but also by showing the industry that this isn’t just a niche. It’s a necessity.”
