By Robyn Electra

When people talk about fashion, they often frame it as something playful or optional. Something expressive. Something indulgent.

For many transgender people, it is something else entirely.

It is survival. It is safety. It is the difference between feeling visible in the world or feeling forced to hide from it.

I am Robyn Electra, a transgender woman and the founder of Gaff and Go, a brand that creates gender-affirming lingerie and swimwear. I did not start my work in fashion because I wanted to design clothes. I started because I could not find the clothing I needed to live comfortably as myself.

Gender-affirming fashion is often treated like a niche luxury. But the truth is much simpler. 

For many of us, it is essential.

The moment clothing becomes identity

Every trans person remembers the first time clothing truly felt right.

It might be the first dress that sits naturally on your body. The first pair of underwear that does not make you feel exposed. The first time you look in the mirror and see something closer to who you have always known yourself to be.

These moments can seem small to someone outside the community. But they carry enormous emotional weight.

Clothing can create alignment between identity and presentation. When that alignment happens, the constant background tension many trans people carry begins to ease.

You stand differently. You breathe differently. You move through the world with a little more confidence.

Gender-affirming clothing does not simply change how we look. It changes how we exist.

Growing up without the options we needed

When I realised I was transgender at twenty, I faced a reality that many trans women know well. The clothing that existed in the mainstream fashion world simply was not designed for my body.

Like many others, I relied on painful and unsafe methods to tuck. These techniques were uncomfortable and sometimes harmful, but they were often the only option available if you wanted to feel secure in public.

Something as ordinary as wearing a swimsuit became complicated. Many trans women avoid swimming pools, beaches or holidays entirely because they cannot find swimwear that allows them to feel comfortable and safe.

These are experiences people outside the community rarely see. Yet they shape daily life for many trans people.

When clothing does not exist for your body, every social situation becomes harder.

Building what did not exist

After years of navigating those challenges, I decided to create the products I could never find.

The journey that eventually became Gaff and Go started very simply. I wanted to create underwear and swimwear that allowed trans women to tuck safely and comfortably.

I spent years researching fabrics, refining designs, and testing early prototypes with friends. Every detail mattered. Comfort mattered. Safety mattered. Confidence mattered.

Those early experiments grew into a brand built entirely around gender-affirming design. Today Gaff and Go creates trans lingerie, swimwear and accessories specifically engineered for trans women, non-binary people and anyone who tucks.

The goal was never just to make clothing.

It was to remove barriers that trans people encounter every day.

The emotional cost of exclusion

When fashion ignores transgender bodies, the impact is deeper than inconvenience.

Every time someone walks into a shop and realises nothing was designed with them in mind, it sends a quiet message.

You were not considered.

You were not part of the design process.

You were not imagined as a customer.

For a community that already faces social stigma and misunderstanding, those messages accumulate. They reinforce the feeling that trans people exist outside the boundaries of normal life.

Fashion is one of the most visible forms of identity. When that form of expression excludes certain bodies, it creates a daily reminder of that exclusion.

Inclusive design changes that dynamic.

When clothing is created with trans people in mind, it sends a very different message.

You belong here.

Confidence is not superficial

One of the most moving parts of my work has been hearing from people who finally feel comfortable in situations they once avoided.

Customers write to say they wore a swimsuit at the beach for the first time. Others say they went swimming on holiday after years of avoiding pools entirely.

Some messages are even simpler. Someone tried on a piece of underwear and felt, for the first time, that their body made sense.

These moments may seem ordinary, but they represent something much bigger.

Confidence allows people to participate in life.

When someone feels secure in what they are wearing, they stop worrying about how their body might be perceived. Their focus shifts from anxiety to experience.

That shift changes everything.

Why inclusive design matters

True inclusivity in fashion begins with design.

It starts with asking who clothing is actually made for and whose bodies are included in the design process.

Transgender people have historically been treated as an afterthought in fashion. Occasionally represented, but rarely considered when garments are constructed.

This is why trans-led design matters so much.

When the people designing products have lived experience, they understand the real challenges involved. They know where clothing needs support, where comfort is essential and where small design details make a huge difference.

The result is not just representation. It is functionality.

And for people who rely on gender-affirming clothing to feel comfortable in their bodies, functionality is everything.

Beyond visibility

In recent years, fashion has taken small steps toward including transgender people in campaigns and media coverage. That visibility is important and long overdue.

But representation alone is not enough.

Seeing trans models in advertisements is powerful, but it does not solve the practical challenges people face when trying to find clothing that actually works for their bodies.

Real inclusion means designing clothing that supports a wider range of bodies and experiences. It means treating gender-affirming fashion as a necessary part of the industry rather than a niche category.

Trans people deserve access to clothing that helps them feel comfortable, confident and beautiful.

A future where no one has to improvise

I often think about how different my own journey might have been if gender-affirming clothing had been widely available when I first came out.

If safe and comfortable options had existed, so many people could have avoided the painful improvisation that trans communities have relied on for decades.

My hope is that the future of fashion looks different.

A future where trans people can walk into a store and find clothing that fits their bodies without explanation. A future where gender-affirming design is not considered specialist, but simply good design.

Because clothing should not be a barrier to living openly.

It should be a tool that allows people to move through the world with confidence.

Gender-affirming fashion is not a luxury.

It is dignity.