A Thread about thongs
Hannah Richtman has gone from vintage retail queen to queen of your underwear drawer. Here, she tells us more about the ride.
Welcome back to school, September, fashion month - however you choose to worship. Summer might be over but this week I’m warming up your inbox with a hot girl story all about thongs. Enter, Hannah Richtman, founder of the internet’s favourite underwear. If you’ve seen a whale tail on your feed lately, it’s likely she’s (ahem) behind it. After proving her retail chops with her NYC vintage-store-cum-hangout-spot The Break, in 2022 Hannah launched a lingerie line. Here we gush about her aptly titled label, Gush.
gush | ɡʌʃ | verb
1 flow out of something in a rapid and plentiful stream • discharge (liquid) in a rapid and plentiful stream
2 speak or write effusively or with exaggerated enthusiasm
So where did it all start?
I’m originally from Wisconsin and I moved to NYC when I was 18 - 15 years ago. I worked every single job I could possibly get, whilst also writing this blog called ‘The Fashion Hash’. (I was a really big stoner.)
And how did you start The Break, your vintage retailer?
Growing up in Wisconsin, I thrifted everything, so I had this huge inventory of vintage and secondhand pieces. When I wrote the business plan for The Break, the idea was less of a fashion company and more of a hospitality brand. What I was really attracted to was this idea that there could be a physical space and also a social one - focused on design and fashion, but also to make people feel more comfortable. Especially young people or people who can’t afford to buy designer pieces. People who just moved to the city and don’t have any friends, or who are trying to create connections with like-minded people.
I also saw an opportunity to do something a bit more contemporary with vintage. I loved building a brand around what me and my friends wanted to wear, and being able to put that in a space that didn’t feel like a vintage store. We’d just be hanging out and drinking rosé and blasting music and dancing and trying on clothes, and that was the culture around it. Then COVID hit and we lost everything. That was a huge wake-up call because I was also so close to burning out. I was hand-sourcing like 600 pieces a week, and it took all of my time.
How did you start Gush?
The product started because it was something that I genuinely really wanted and couldn’t find. I have 20 years of experience wearing thongs and I was never satisfied. I’m a resourceful ass bitch, so I posted to Instagram like, “Girls, where is this thong? Somebody point me in the right direction.” I was bombarded with DMs from hundreds of women. Clearly a bunch of other women really like it too, so I thought fuck it, let’s try. I figured I was making it for me and then maybe I’d make around 50 more for all of the girls that were in my DMs.
Can you describe the style?
I wanted it to have the 80s Brazilian super high waist, but I wanted it to dip lower at the front. And I didn’t want it to be in cotton because cotton… it can get a little moist you know! If you’re sweaty and then it bunches and digs into your hips. But I didn’t want it to be seamless, because the seamless styles fall off your hips and sag.
How would you describe Gush?
Okay so, to me, Gush is not a thong brand. I think it’s probably similar to The Break, where I was like, “The Break is not a vintage store.” Yeah, okay, it kind of is! But it’s more than that. And to me, Gush is more than thongs. To me, Gush is this movement.
What are the similarities between Gush and The Break?
I feel like both of these companies are just my personality as a brand. It’s me just wanting to talk about things that I love with other people who also love it, and then brand it out and make a website for it. The ethos and the mission behind them are the same because it’s me and a bunch of girls in my DMs talking about thongs. How ridiculous is that?
What’s the difference between the two?
I think that whereas The Break is all about making people feel really comfortable, Gush is about making people - or maybe the wrong people - a little uncomfortable. Gush is like this other part of my personality that’s like ‘That Bitch’. You know what I mean? It’s more sexy and a bit more vulgar, and very in your face and unapologetic. In The Break, I want there to be something for everyone. Whereas with Gush, because I originally wanted this product for me, I always have this super niche mentality around it. Not everyone even likes thongs!
Who came up with the name? As a words person, I’m obsessed with how it works in every context.
I came up with it. Gush is this incredible word because it has the two meanings. It’s forceful, like a rush of liquid - which is hot and kind of gross, which I love. When people hear the word ‘gush’, I feel like it’s similar to ‘moist’ - it has that ick factor. But also when you gush about something, you’re enthusiastic about it. You love it. And that’s exactly what was happening in my DMs. This entire thing started because I was gushing about little black thongs, which is so stupid and silly. Until you build a brand! So Gush felt a little wrong - and very right.
The energy almost feels a bit like a beauty brand. Beauty brands have this intimate vibe of girls whispering about their beauty secrets, and they’re also fun and playful. Beauty products aren’t that deep, but they can be really bonding.
I totally agree. It’s also another case of not taking ourselves so seriously. You can be brilliant and intelligent, and want to have a cute little conversation about something that goes in your butt crack!
Samantha Jones energy!
A thousand percent.
Lastly, this idea of community is central to both The Break and Gush, however it’s also a word which has been co-opted by big brands in a superficial way. What does community mean to you, and how do you make it genuine?
Community, to me, is about respect and kindness. You respect people, you’re having fun, they’re gonna have fun. Everyone’s having a good time and we protect each other. Community isn’t something that you can buy, it’s something that you have to offer, and that’s how it grows. And that comes through genuine human connection.
Threads of the week
A simple holiday look to remember the halcyon days of summer and this excellent white wall. Wearing a Hanes tank, Lido bikini underneath, and a pair of adidas cycling shorts. Necklace by Santangelo - jewellery with an endless holiday vibe.
Loose Threads
This perfectly Threads-themed snippet sent to me by my mum from last weekend’s FT.
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