Make a splash this summer with simple swimwear.
San Francisco’s hottest new swimwear lines rethink the suit.
Minimalists, rejoice! There’s a new wave hitting the swimwear market, all about pared-down, no-frills suits, and San Francisco is (at least partially) to thank. It all started in the winter of 2013, when designer Gina Esposito, a Bernal resident then freelancing at Levi’s, began tinkering around with the idea of launching the swimwear brand of her dreams.
“I’m a swimmer, so the silhouettes are kept quite simple for that reason — no extras to get in the way of your time in and out of the water,” says Esposito, who grew up on Long Island, N.Y.. She logged years on the high school swim team and as an ocean lifeguard before studying fashion at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and eventually decamping for San Francisco.
A company-wide layoff gave Esposito the push she needed to start her own line, and Nu Swim officially launched in January 2015, garnering an order from General Store (with locations in S.F. and Los Angeles) the very first day. Other pace-setting retailers soon followed.
“Nu Swim made the one-piece stylish again, in a modern and functional way,” says Lisa Williams, the founder and owner of online shop Lisa Says Gah. “Gina was offering the first minimal yet stylish suits — a combo missing in the market. Her pieces are incredibly flattering on all body shapes and I knew it would be a hit. Innovatively simple swimwear that calls to mind functionality, comfort and clean lines, these suits are just as perfect poolside, Champagne in hand, as they are riverside, toes in the mud.”
What started as a handful of styles — signature straight-cut tops and highwaisted bottoms — has now grown to include triangle bralettes, lower bottoms and low-back one-pieces, in black, white and an unexpected palette of bright orange, mustard, blush and even chocolate brown.
“Even though I am usually wearing black, I am really moved by color — always have been,” says Esposito. “The hardest part is convincing yourself that all of these colors you love can sit together as a story and cohesive palette. I am usually looking through Milton Avery’s paintings or Viviane Sassen’s photographs to convince myself that these colors actually work together.”
Also inspired by current indie fashion trends, rather than swimwear trends, Esposito’s approach for Nu (which translates to “nude” in French) has made her pieces not only stand out within the swim market, but also become multifunctional fashion pieces in their own right.
“The line is incredibly versatile, beyond swim,” Williams says. “I see our customers style Nu in outfits, with denim and skirts.”
Esposito, who considers her brand “swim lifestyle,” wears the one-pieces as bodysuits paired with jeans, and her tops as both everyday and sports bras. Celebrities have embraced the brand, too, with style icon Solange featuring Nu Swim in her “Don’t Touch My Hair” video, and the pieces appearing in Porter magazine (on Michelle Williams), Self (on Karlie Kloss) and in the New York Times.
Another Bay Area brand looking to make a splash in the minimalist swim category is Pali Swim, whose story is not unlike Esposito’s.
Disenchanted with their full-time gigs at Levi’s, designer Martha Duerr and merchandiser Naomi Gassel began hatching a plan to collaborate on what would become Pali Swim after striking up an in-office/out-of-office friendship.
Once both women ditched their fulltime jobs in 2015, the soft launch of Pali (which means “cliff ” in Hawaiian) soon followed in June 2016. Their goal: to create cool, hard-working swimwear for all ages and body types.
“It was important to us to create swimwear for real women who love to have fun in and out of the water,” says Duerr, a Hawaii native who also studied fashion design at FIT in New York and swimwear design in Milan, Italy. “It’s really important that Pali makes people feel confident, comfortable and cute. The fact that I, in my late 20s; my sisters, who are young moms in their late 30s; and our mom all wear the same suit is exactly what we set out to do.”
To showcase this democratic angle, the pair make sure the models they feature in their look books and on their website are decidedly more “real” than those featured by other brands. From their high-waisted, fullcoverage Bodega Bottoms to the high neckline of the Forever Summer OnePiece, Pali’s cuts and colors are also aimed at flattering the masses, which is a point that drew shop owner Vanessa Ambrose of Cameron Marks in Santa Cruz.
“We adore Pali Swim’s campaign using real, gorgeous women,” says Ambrose, who also carries Nu Swim. “The fact that both lines are local S.F. companies, run by women for women, and designed and manufactured in small limited runs in S.F., was a big attraction.”
Ambrose’s customers are feeling the love, too. “Pali Swim is just hitting the sales floor,” she says, “but so far customers are loving the hues, especially the solid gray, which is a color I have yet to come across in the world of swim. Also the fuller coverage — at last!
“I’m loving the minimal direction swim is taking,” Ambrose adds. “It doesn’t seem as much of a daunting exercise to go swimsuit shopping today as it once was. Before, one might go to a surf store or a department store. It was all about the big brands, but now we have some wonderful independent, small labels in the making, which is making it all that much more interesting.”
“I’m a swimmer, so the silhouettes are kept quite simple for that reason — no extras to get in the way of your time in and out of the water.” Gina Esposito, Nu Swim designer