In the annals of intimate apparel, Victoria's Secret once reigned as a cultural juggernaut - a dazzling, pink-hued empire that, during its so-called golden years, operated like an Ivy League for the industry's brightest minds. Sharleen Ernster, a former Executive Vice President at the brand, was one of those minds. For 13 years, she helped transform categories like swimwear and provocative apparel from modest divisions into nearly billion-dollar powerhouses. Yet beneath the sequins and wings, a quiet dissonance grew: many of the decisions shaping women's undergarments were still filtered through a male lens. Ideas born from female experience often stalled before they could soar.
That disconnect became visceral when Ernster became a mother in her late thirties. Her body shifted from a size 2 to a size 8 in under three years, with constant fluctuations in breast size that rendered her own beautiful, polished products uncomfortable. The lingerie she had helped build no longer fit her reality. "Beautiful products sacrificed comfort," she reflects. Poor fit led to waste - bras and underwear replaced as quickly as bodies changed. The industry, she realized, had stopped designing for real life.
That frustration sparked a vision. On a plane, Ernster experienced a creative download: the name, mission, and product ethos for We Are HAH arrived fully formed. Launched from her living room in 2016, the brand championed sustainability, fit innovation, and female empowerment - long before those terms became marketing currency. She recruited former colleagues and built a company that grew to nearly $5 million in revenue, with a remarkable 42% customer retention rate. But independent brands face harsh headwinds: retail bankruptcies, pandemic disruptions, and shifting investor priorities. In 2024, Ernster made the difficult decision to dissolve the company.
Today, her focus has sharpened. She advocates for organic cotton underwear - what she calls a "virgin category" with the power to create meaningful environmental and health impact through small shifts in consumer behavior. Her philosophy is elegantly simple: "#startsomewhere with your underwear." In an era where sustainability can feel performative, Ernster's grounded honesty reminds us that lingerie's most radical act may be designing for the body as it truly is.
Originally reported by LingerieBriefs