The Most Expensive Underwear Is The Pair You Never Wear

By Lisa Taylor

When I launched Wicks, I made one deliberate decision: I launched as early as possible. 

Not because the product was unfinished (we spent a long time getting the product to such a high standard), but because I didn't want to spend years designing around assumptions. Until you have customers, every design decision is really just an educated guess.

I wanted to find out who my customers would be, what they valued, and what they felt the market was missing.

Within a few months, a clear pattern emerged. The women resonating with Wicks were overwhelmingly in their forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and beyond. They were asking for better design that reflected their real life and changing bodies.

With this insight, we learnt exactly who we were designing for: specifically, sophisticated women from middle-age onwards.

Interestingly, recent Australian research from RMIT University, based on a survey of more than 3,000 Australians, found that age is the single biggest factor influencing how we buy, wear and care for our clothing, ahead of gender, income and postcode. 

As we move through different stages of life, we become more discerning about what earns a place in our wardrobe. We stop judging clothing purely on how it looks and start appreciating how it performs in everyday life.

That's why the most expensive underwear is the pair you never wear, not the piece with the highest price tag.

Another compelling reason to really hone in on customer feedback is waste. The fashion industry generates an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste every year. This is equivalent to a garbage truck full of clothing being burned or sent to landfill every second. 

At Wicks, we believe the most sustainable garment is the one you genuinely love wearing. That's why we design every piece with the intention of creating the piece our customers reach for again and again. 

A few months after launching, I had spoken to hundreds of women through surveys, phone calls, emails, even chatting to women in the street or at the local cafe. 

They told us they wanted:

✅ Higher waistlines that stayed comfortably in place.

✅ Anti-odour and antimicrobial.

✅ Fuller coverage across the back.

✅ GOTS-certified organic cotton against sensitive areas.

✅ Soft fabrics that felt luxurious all day.

✅ Underwear that quietly supported them without constantly reminding them it was there.

These are features of all Wicks pieces. 

Interestingly, they're also reflected more broadly across the fashion industry. A recent Vogue Business consumer survey found that 81% of women said they would pay more for garments with design features that better accommodate the way real bodies change over time.

That's exactly what our customers were asking us for.

Every meaningful change we've made has come from listening. Perhaps that's the real lesson.