Gale EPSTEIN
- Biography
- Gale Epstein’s fashion journey started at 12 years-old, creating designs and selling them in her native St. Louis. After studying at Washington University and Parsons School of Design, she began her professional career in knitwear, designing for domestic companies while making custom accessory and clothing designs for NYC boutiques under her own label, ‘recycled by gale’. In 1977, intrigued by the idea of turning modest Victorian-era inspired hand-embroidered handkerchiefs into a modern female statement, she crafted a bra and bikini birthday gift for her friend Lida Orzeck. It was a gift that launched Hanky Panky, a lingerie brand now sold in over 70 countries.
By 1986 Gale had set her mind to a new challenge – designing a comfortable thong for the new stretch jeans generation. She launched product no. 4811, the perfect one-size lace thong. Hanky Panky’s Signature Lace has since seen 500 colors and over 270 prints, as well as a multitude of other popular silhouettes. In 2004, the thongs gained wider distribution with her “anti-package” approach of rolling them and securing with a branded band. Hanky Panky has always been a strong supporter of US production of fabrics, garment manufacturing, and packaging.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Gale continues to champion Hanky Panky’s sustainability journey, advocating for best practices in fabric, packaging, production and recycling. In 2017 she initiated Lingeriecycle® as a way for customers to recycle used underwear. She is thrilled to partner with Canopy Planet to help create a market for Next Gen packaging and fabric solutions.
Gale has a lifelong commitment to supporting environmental, animal rights, social and arts organizations.
She is a board member of Sing Sing Prison Museum, a patron of Pace University Seidenberg School’s BluCoLab program and a member of WellMet Philanthropy.
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Next Generation Paper Packaging: Luxury that Doesn’t Cost the Earth
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05/09/2024
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13:00 - 13:50