About the Brand
About
Everything competes for attention now, and the clothes closest to the body are some of the quietest offenders: the sock that slides under the heel, the waistband that rolls, the strap that rides up. Undercurrent is a New York brand built on the idea that these small interruptions are design failures, not facts of life, and that the layer beneath everything else should stay exactly where it was put.
It starts with the no show sock, a product most people have quietly given up on. Most are knit as a tube and rely on a silicone strip to stay on. Undercurrent cuts and sews its socks from a soft cotton and Lenzing Modal fabric, so the sock is shaped to the foot before the grip does any work. Three heights are matched to the shoes people actually wear, from ballet flats to loafers to sneakers, in five colors. A pair is $10.
Founded by designer Stella Liu and formerly known as Essoc, Undercurrent has since added a sleep mask and is building toward a full line of essentials worn closest to the body. It is sold at shopundercurrent.com and through independent boutiques across the US.
Founding Story
Stella Liu came to New York from Shanghai to study design, into a new language, a new city and a pace that did not wait for anyone. Living at that speed made her notice everything that slowed her down, and nothing did it more reliably than a no show sock sliding off her heel halfway down the block.
She started making her own under the name Essoc. Her design training pointed her toward construction rather than more grip: instead of knitting the sock as a tube, she cut and sewed it from fabric so it would fit the foot from the start.
The deeper she went, the clearer the pattern became. The slipping, the rolling, the tugging things back into place are interruptions so small that people stop noticing they put up with them. “None of them are big enough to complain about,” she says. “That’s exactly why nobody fixed them.” In 2026 Essoc became Undercurrent, a name for the layer beneath everything else, and for the idea that it should never ask for your attention.
At a Glance
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3D Tailored Construction
Most no show socks are knit as a flat tube and stretched over the foot, leaving a silicone strip to do the work of holding them on. Undercurrent patterns its socks in three dimensions, the way a tailor shapes a garment, with pieces cut to follow the curve of the heel (and the top of the foot), then sewn together. The sock fits snugly before it is ever stretched, so the silicone grip holds a sock that is already in place. Turn a pair inside out and the seams show how it was built. Samples are available for side by side testing.
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Modal Blend
Every pair is 45% cotton, 45% Lenzing Modal and 10% spandex. Lenzing Modal is a trademarked fiber from Austria’s Lenzing, made from beechwood pulp and known for staying soft wash after wash. It gives the sock a smooth, cool hand against the skin and enough stretch to move with the foot without losing its shape.
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Three Heights, Matched to the Shoe
Instead of one sock for every shoe, Undercurrent makes three heights. Low-Cut sits lowest, for ballet flats and heels. Mid-Cut is for loafers, sneakers, clogs and slip ons. High-Cut covers more of the foot, for dress shoes and sneakers with a tall collar. Five colors, sizes S to XL, with XXL in Mid-Cut and High-Cut.
Signature Products
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Fashion & Accessories
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Team & Experts
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Stella Liu is the founder of Undercurrent, a New York brand that designs the everyday essentials worn closest to the body. Before starting the company, she worked as a UX designer at technology companies, where the job was to find the small moments of friction that make people hesitate, give up or work around a product. She brings the same method to clothing: looking for the moment someone stops to adjust what they are wearing, and redesigning the piece so that moment never comes.
That approach shaped Undercurrent’s first product, a no show sock built with 3D tailored, cut and sewn construction instead of the knit tube used across most of the category. Originally from Shanghai, Stella moved to New York to study design and launched the brand as Essoc before renaming it Undercurrent in 2026.
Locations
New York
33 W 17th Street, New York, NY
Office - open by appointment
Asset Library
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Press Contact
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Primary press contact
Undercurrent
Press inquiries
- stella@shopundercurrent.com
- Replies within 24 hours