SPOTLIGHT ON... Hunza G
MEET THE WOMAN REBOOTING THE SWIMWEAR BRAND LOVED BY MADONNA IN THE EIGHTIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA STARS TODAY
Mentions of British brand Hunza, founded by Peter Meadows in 1984, might bring back memories of blue eyeshadow and fluorescent high-cut swimsuits. But, 37 years later, designer Georgiana Huddart (above) has successfully brought the label into the Instagram age. The mother-of-one discovered Hunza’s original stretch fabric when she was 18, studying art history at the University of Leeds: ‘I went to vintage shops looking for crinkled fabric and bought everything I could find.’ The fixation continued as she began her fashion career: a brief stint in menswear before assisting stylist Camilla Nickerson. Studdart would hunt down Hunza’s signature fabric to make into new styles, from dresses to low-rise swimsuits. A chance encounter with a friend of Peter Meadows at a party led to a meeting with the Hunza founder. ‘I took him a Sainsbury’s plastic bag filled with my samples,’ Studdart laughs. ‘That’s how Hunza G began.’
The brand has since exploded, and is stocked at every major luxury retailer (from Matchesfashion to Net-a-Porter). Everything is produced in the UK (the crinkle fabric is made in the Midlands, before pieces are hand-finished in London) on a made-to-order basis for minimal waste. ‘Sustainability is our number-one conversation,’ Huddart says.
The range of one-pieces and bikinis come, for now, in one size, designed to fit a UK size 6 to 14. The stretch fabric will see some women through the likes of weight fluctuation and pregnancy, which Huddart believes has contributed to the brand’s growth in lockdown, despite travel bans and shops being closed: ‘Buying something you know will fit at different stages of life is amazing.’
We agree – and, even if we don’t leave the UK this summer, they’ll still make for sizzling park-wear bodysuits.