DIVING IN
Oklahoma swimwear designer Allie Ayers launches her second collection
It has been more than a year since swimwear designer and Oklahoma native Allie Ayers debuted her first collection. Now with a second one completed, she feels more confident and on course.
Production has been moved to Los Angeles, where she lives. She's working with models she knows. Her team even includes a couple of Oklahomans. And Bissy Swim is growing.
“Slow growing. Well, not that slow, but within my control,” Ayers, 25, said of the brand. “I'm thankful to have control over it because I got to make sure the groundwork was done, that it grows the way I want it to.”
And she's already getting some national notice.
Bissy Swim was included in Sports Illustrated Swim magazine this year and recently at Sports Illustrated Swim's runway show during Miami Swim Week.
She's also a hit in her hometown of Snyder, Oklahoma. In February, her second collection, named 2011, was photographed in the junior high school gym there. Her basketball team won the state basketball championship in 2011 so the collection was a shout-out to that accomplishment. She even brought in members of the team as extras during the shoot.
“I'm still rooted in my roots,” Ayers said. So much so that she names each suit after Oklahoma towns.
Last year's initial collection included four styles; her second increased to seven, all in sizes 0 to 26 with prices from $100 to $150. Ayers prefers keeping the new lines limited and manageable, at least for now.
“We work hard at perfecting fit and expanding the size range of every single suit we do. It serves us well at the size we are now. Seven is perfect.”
She's also working on custom service for those looking for something outside of the size range or with special needs. Diversity is important, as well as sustainability. A resort line will be forthcoming, perhaps as early as next year. The business is self-funded, so slow and steady growth is her plan.
“I don't want to bite off more than we can chew and lessen the quality of our product,” she said.
Quality and fit also are essential. Ayers heard from a size 24 woman who bought one of the suits, put it on and couldn't stop dancing around the house.
“I felt so good, I put my clothes on over it,” the woman said.
Positive response also comes from those who are thankful and exited to see models who are their color, size or age represented by the brand.
“When I hear that, I feel good knowing I'm doing something
I'm proud of,” Ayers said.
Swimwear isn't the easiest to design because it be it must be functional with support. That's a challenge Ayers said she's always enjoyed.
In many ways, the business has gotten easier, but it also has been a whirlwind of figuring things out — such as the swimwear cycle, including samples and shows. With more than a year of experience, Ayers said she has become smarter about expectations — her own and others'.
“People expect you to be on top of everything,” she said, but problems pop up every day. “A lot of
people say, `Oh, cool, you design swimwear.' That's not all we do.”
Or all Ayers hopes to do.
For now, Bissy Swim is sold only on its website, bissyswim.com, though a couple of pop-up shops are being considered. Men's swimwear and women's activewear also are on her mind, but she
knows those are possibilities for future projects.
“It's better to have a brand that people trust, not overdo yourself and grow as you grow,” she said.
Ayers grew up in Snyder and graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. Her resume includes being a nanny, computer coder in Bali and Mexico, model, casting assistant and Sports Illustrated model in 2018's February swimsuit issue. After practically living and
working in bikinis while in Bali and Mexico, she decided to make her own to save money. Friends then wanted her suits.
After giving it one last go in the modeling business, she decided to devote her attention to swimwear.
“I feel like I have more control than I ever have now. I have gone a lot of directions in my life,” she said, adding it feels good to be passionate about this one.
Because swimwear, especially a smaller collection like hers, offers
some off time, Ayers will be handling the wardrobe direction of a new movie scheduled for release in 2020.
“I'm overseeing every piece of clothing that goes on each actor's body,” she said. And because she has done some acting, she was asked to take on the role of a female villain in the movie, too.
Could this be another U-turn for her? She said she's open to doing more wardrobe directing, but “Bissy is my first priority.”