Suited for success
An Oklahoma model has launched a line of swimwear.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Allie Ayers’ father always told her to have a backup plan. She does.
At any time, she could put her degree to use as an occupational therapist. Now is not the time.
This small-town Oklahoma girl is diving into the swimwear industry with the invitation-only launch of her first Bissy Swim collection on June 23 at Packard’s in downtown Oklahoma City.
Ayers, 24, grew up in Snyder and graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. Her resume includes nanny, computer coder in Bali and Mexico, struggling model, casting assistant and Sports Illustrated model in this year’s February swimsuit issue. Yes, SI. And now she can add swimwear designer.
“It takes awhile to find your thing, but when you do, it’s really cool,” she said from her home in Los Angeles.
The idea for swimwear started to take hold while she was working in Bali and Mexico, where she practically lived in a bikini. “Our office was the pool,” she said. Tired of buying new swimwear, she decided to see
what she could design and stitch up. She bought teeny bits of fabric and made teeny bikinis. Soon friends wanted to buy them.
She wasn’t ready to push forward, though. She moved back to New York, still hoping to earn a living as a model. “I couldn’t book a job to save my life,” she said.
Perhaps it was time to pack up, move to Texas and use that degree. While she still was contemplating her future, she saw an open call for models for Sports Illustrated. She submitted a casting video. Hers was one of 5,000 submissions, and she was one of 35 invited to Brooklyn to meet editors and do some test shots. The number was narrowed down to 15, then six. She and five others, including Olivia Jordan, of Tulsa, Miss USA 2015, flew to Belize for the photo shoot and launch of the magazine’s first swimwear line with styles up to size 20.
It was the magazine’s first open casting call, asking for diversity of size and ethnicity, and it gave women from all over the country an opportunity, Ayers said. One of the women had never modeled, and she was featured in the magazine. “I thought that was a really neat thing to give that opportunity,” she said.
When the magazine learned of
Ayers’ swimsuit venture, it was supportive of that, too, helping set up an interview with Money magazine.
Ayers said the people she worked with at Sports Illustrated encouraged all the models to be well-rounded, strong women and helped empower them. The magazine didn’t want them to be just swimsuit models, she said, adding it was great working with women who wanted you to take charge of your image and put yourself out there the way you want to, to show you’ve embraced your body.
“The whole thing behind it is really, really beautiful. It’s a really cool environment. I feel so lucky to be able to do that. It’s so much more than what it used to be.”
The swimsuit issue is legendary, Ayers said, but “now women are taking back their identity, their power, their bodies. That’s what’s so cool about it.”
‘Something for everyone’
Two months before the issue landed on newsstands across the country, the aspiring designer’s career got a big boost right here in Oklahoma. Ayers made the bikini for Cheyene Darling Gorman, who was named Miss Oklahoma USA in December.
It was a major moment and sparked plenty of interest, though Bissy Swim still was slowly coming together. And about that name. Ayers’ middle name is Elizabeth, but as a child she insisted it was Bissy.
For now, the suits only will be sold on her website, bissyswim.com, as she learns more about business and the swimwear industry.
She’s starting small with four colors and four styles — two one-pieces and two two-pieces. All sexy, but classy with a hint of old Hollywood.
She diligently tried on and reworked each suit many times. There was no room for error. “I want to start strong and people to know they’re going to get a quality piece,” she said.
It took awhile to make sure every piece was exactly right. “And these four pieces are exactly right.”
The suits are available in sizes 0 to 26. “I wanted to be able to offer something for everyone who came to me,” Ayers said. “Something flattering and sexy.”
Prices are in the $100 to $150 range. “I don’t want it to be so expensive you only buy one suit and keep it forever.”
Ayers said she uses the best fabric and hardware, and refuses to compromise on quality and fit.
It’s important to her to make sure women feel the best version of themselves when in one of her suits.
She said she used to have a bad relationship with her body, but what helped was a decision to love herself, to love her body that day and choosing to send love to what she considered the worst parts. “It finally started to work for me,” she said, adding that helping women find confidence and acceptance drives Bissy Swim.
“I wanted to show that to every size woman. I wanted them to have an option,” she said and for them to be able to say, “I’m going to love this piece of me today.”
She said she’s thankful to Sports Illustrated for giving her a voice because she knows firsthand the frustrations women have about their bodies.
With the open call, Sports Illustrated became an advocate for women and models “in between sizes,” including those too big for straightsize jobs and too small for plus size jobs. She said the magazine made sure there were women featured who other women could identify with.
The magazine’s open call was announced in March 2017, and the photo shoot was in November. It has been a whirlwind 16 months. Now Ayers is planning her swimwear launch and said it was important that it happen in Oklahoma.
“The whole inspiration of this line is so driven by my small-town upbringing, my small-town chic. I wanted my people who helped get me where I am to be there.”
And does she think her father is still happy she has a backup plan?
“I‘m sure he is, but he’s glad to see my actual dream coming true.”