ginch gonch flare wear

It's only been a little over a year since Vancouver-based Ginch Gonch began its “fun protest against boring black and white underwear,” and already the company has made a big splash in the underwear market.

The company's mission statement is “Live Life Like A Kid," a statement that permeates everything the Ginch Gonch does, right down to its name, which is a Canadian schoolyard colloquialism for underpants.

"The great thing about the name is that you can't translate it into anything else. People [in non-English speaking countries] just like the way it sounds and it makes them laugh," said company founder and, according to his business card, director of stitches and inches, Jason Sutherland. "The minute I hand someone my card they smile."

Ginch Gonch makes his and hers mix-and-match briefs, thongs, tanks and t-shirts, which are composed of three parts: the body, piping and stitching, each of which is a different color maximizing contrast. Each line is offered in 25 colors and the company offers four collections per year.

All of the company's apparel is made of 95/5 cotton/Lycra blend with a 220 thread count proportion, waistband manufactured from the same material composition as the garment, seamless construction, and tailored cuts to accentuate the individual's body. Its latest men's designs include such names as Crotch Rockets, Jolly Cocks, Shooters and Hunters. For the winter months, Ginch Gonch will also be adding long sleeve shirts and long johns.

"One of the best things about our products is that all of them are collectibles, like hockey cards and haute culture. Each different limited edition look is released and never repeated," Sutherland stated. "Success in both anticipating fashion trends and introducing innovative products is dictated by a company's ability to deliver to the consumer before an idea is copied or a trend dies out. Our product is continually evolving and our customer base is educated on the potential scarcity of their favorite designs, which allows us to protect our brand integrity and maintain our retail price points. Through innovation in textile manufacturing it is our intention to continue to be leaders in design."

From the onset the U.S. has been Ginch Gonch's primary market, targeting boutique stores like Kitson, as an underground label, which helped forge relationships with premier department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's.

"According to Freshpair.com, Americans spend more than $12 billion on underwear, of which men spend $3.4 billion and women $8.6 billion," said Sutherland. "Our men's products are the better line for us at this time, with the Star, Fire trucks and Weiner Eater designs leading the way. But, we anticipate that by the end of 2006 Europe will have surpassed the United States as our primary market, as in France alone, lingerie takes up 20-percent of the average woman's annual clothing budget. In addition, in the last month we have signed distribution contracts with Japan and Israel, and are currently in negotiations with New Zealand, Korea, China, Brazil and parts of Europe."

Ginch Gonch has appeared in a myriad of media outlets, including CNN News, NBC Nightly News, ABC's The View, MTV Fashion, Cosmo, Cargo, GQ Europe and Penthouse next spring.