Lilly and I are so excited about our very first Designer Profile, out this month in Regard Magazine.
You may not know this but Lilly and I both merged our swimwear lines, Have Faith Swimwear and Femme Noir Swimgerie, to create the powerhouse brand we now call Have Faith Swimgerie.
The merge was natural as we had the same vision, the same goals and both brought different yet very important things to the table. But it wasn't all business, Lilly and I became best friends first, before realizing we had way more in common than just us owning a swimwear line. We both consider ourselves Fashionistas, we both have the same tastes, we could pass as sisters although I am Italian and she is Persian- ( we call ourselves Persalian ) and we even drive the same cars, but amongst many other things we believe this was meant to be. Deep into our first season together it couldn't have been better.
Dimitry from Regard Magazine shot us for our first ever designer profile at my house in Beverly Hills. The pictures came out amazing and Lilly and I are so excited to share our story with you.
We hope you enjoy our article and pictures! Check out our swimwear at www.HaveFaith.com
Our NEW Website will be launching soon :)
xoxo
Jennifer and Lilly
With all the various aspects fashion available, what made you decide to design swimwear?
Once upon a time, a girl didn't have too many options with swimwear. You could either get a basic, boring bikini, or a barely there, skimpy string bikini. As fashion lovers, we found it difficult to find a bikini that expressed our individuality, made us feel sexy, and maintained class. Therefore, we decided to make our own! We both love to design, not just swimwear, but we felt that swimwear really needed a fashion revolution, so we decided to start one.
Prior to joining forces, you both had your individual companies, Have Faith Swimwear and Femme Noir Swimgerie. What was your concept behind each one?
Have Faith Swimwear:
Growing up, Jennifer wasn't always able to afford the hottest, trendiest swimwear; and, being a model, she could never find a bikini that would accentuate her curves the way she felt they should be.
Coming from a background of seamstresses, and knowing how to sew, Jennifer started designing and sewing all of her own bikinis. She would attend pool parties in both Miami and Vegas wearing her hand sewn bikinis and girls would always ask her where she got her bikini from, and would tell her how much they loved it. Having just moved to CA, she decided to turn her talents into a swimwear line, sharing her curve accentuating cuts with everyone. Jennifer's ultimate goal is to bring girls glamorous, amazing quality made swimwear at an affordable price!
Femme Noir Swimgerie:
Personally, I was fed up and frustrated with boring basic bikinis, or skimpy barely there string bikinis that lacked style and class. Despite the fact that I'm an attorney, fashion and design had always been a passion of mine, therefore I decided to create my own swimwear line.
I wanted to create a line that eluded sex appeal, yet was still ultra-luxurious and classy. For inspiration, I looked to lingerie instead of swimwear trends. I never felt sexy at the pool in a swimsuit, but I always felt sexy in lingerie, so I tried to capture the allure that lingerie provides and incorporate it into my swimwear. The result was something I felt wasn't quite swimwear, yet wasn't quite lingerie, so, I decided to merge the two names and I created the term "Swimgerie": Lingerie Inspired Swimwear.
Women have become so liberated in last 50 years, I felt it was about time our Swimwear evolved also.
So now, you've now combined both brands as Have Faith Swimgerie. Why did you decide to move in this direction and what do you have planned for future collections?
Jenn and I went from being competitors, to best friends. Our lines were quite different, so we never felt any sort of competition between us; however, we quickly realized that we had the same goals in mind (to offer the best quality, most flattering, cost effective bikini), and that combining forces would create a powerhouse swimwear brand that would offer women so many different styles, and types of swimwear. Have Faith - Swimgerie was born. Each season, the label releases two collections. A fun, flirty, glamorous collection of Swimwear, and a sensual, seductive, lingerie inspired collection of “Swimgerie.”
For future collections, we plan on really glamming out the bikini with all sorts of jewels, appliqués, and fun hard-wear. We also plan on taking the term "Lingerie inspired Swimwear" to a whole new level. Men may very well begin to confuse the bedroom with the beach as underwear is suddenly going to look a lot more like outerwear! We think world is ready.
Swimwear is not an easy business to be in. What challenges and benefits have you seen in your line of work!
Swimwear is a difficult business, most people don't realize just how much work goes into designing, producing and selling swimwear. Sometime, we get criticism from people claiming that it's not difficult to design a little top and bottom to a bikini, or sometimes think we just go shopping and tanning all day. Reality couldn't be farther from that, we bust our behinds day in and day out with the brand.
Challenges arise everyday. From production mistakes to material crises, in the garment industry, challenges are the norm. We try to take things one day at a time, tackle one problem at a time. Having a partner has really helped in this respect. Areas where one is weak and would regularly panic, the other is strong and tackles the issue, and vise versa.
Although, it may be stressful and challenging, the benefits of our business are tremendous. Creating something from nothing, and then watching it grow and succeed is so rewarding and instills an incredible amount of pride in us. We get thank you letters from girls that love their suits almost everyday, and even photos from customers that want to express their appreciation on how sexy they feel in their Have Faith Swimgerie Bikini.
We also have a huge celebrity following, which is really fun. We've seen our suits grace the covers of some of the biggest magazines on some of the hottest stars, and that is very rewarding.
Besides Have Faith Swimgerie, who are your other favorite fashion designers and must haves for your personal closet?
Both Jenn and I are are huge fashionistas! We love to have fun with fashion and our closets. Some of our favorite fashion designers include Helmut Lang, Vince, Rag and Bone, J Brand, ALC, Dsquared, Christian Louboutin and Chanel. Although designer labels have a special place in our hearts and our closets, we still find amazing pieces at more cost conscious stores such as Forever 21, H&M, and even second hand thrift stores.
We both feel it’s not about the price tag, or brand name, but rather how the girl wears the item.
Congratulations, on your success thus far. We wish you the best with your brand. What advice do you have for other up and coming swimwear designers?
Don't let other people make you feel insecure about your designs or your dream. Believe in yourself because if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you either..
