Catch the wave: 5 Canadian swimwear lines that have earned their place in the sun
Though our friends south of the border still like to refer to us as the Great White North, we’re turning up the heat with 5 Canadian-made and runway-ready swimwear worthy of some seriously sunny attention.
Shan
Canada is known for many things—poutine, hockey, the Biebs—but surprisingly, according to Jean-François Sigouin, vice-president of Shan, swimwear hasn’t floated to the surface yet. “When we travel around the world with our collection, it’s always funny to [hear the reaction] of new partners and retailers,” he says. “‘You do bathing suits in a winter country?’” Yes, our season may be short, but the sun is always shining somewhere—and it has been for Shan since its launch in 1985. “We see swimwear like prêt-à-porter for the beach,” says company founder and designer Chantal Levesque. “It’s the same vision.” Twenty-five years ago, this market was driven by the sports industry, so when the Montreal-based designer first introduced her high-fashion/highly technical suits, it was clear a whole new water world had been discovered.
Besides avant-garde designs and superior silhouettes, Shan has also remained true to its Made in Canada motto. Every swimsuit is designed, cut and assembled at the company’s factory in Laval, Que. There are over 125 employees, and, despite the company having the latest technology and machinery, many of the styles still require an element of handwork. “Here, we have the luxury to control each step of our production process,” says Sigouin. “If we receive an order from a client, we only need two weeks to produce and ship. We’re really efficient.” At present, Shan has five flagship boutiques, including ones in Montreal, Toronto and Miami, plus three showrooms (Laval, New York and Paris), and is sold in over 25 countries, some more obvious than others. “Our number one international market is Russia,” says Sigouin. “About 50 stores in Moscow carry our swimwear.” Clearly, luxury translates in any language. This season, Levesque introduced solid colours with shiny finishes into her latest collection. “There are more imperfections with this type of fabric, but I found a special lining to cut that effect,” she says. Other sartorial standouts include Impressionist-inspired prints, pleated halter-top bikinis and the perfect LBB (little black bather). Dreaming up haute creations has always come naturally to Shan’s star designer. “My mother made wedding dresses when I was young, so I’ve always seen the luxury in fashion,” says Levesque. Though there is one exception. “I’ve never been inspired by winter clothes,” she says. Perhaps diving into swimwear in the Great White North isn’t so chilly after all.
Cuchè Bikinis
Forget design school—Eden Rausch was first exposed to the less-is-more look in a less than traditional manner. “My dad owned a belly dancing club in the ’60s and ’70s,” he says. But when it comes to his Vancouver-based swimwear label, Cuchè Bikinis, launched in 2004, classic screen-siren looks rule the pool. Just scan his Pinterest page and you’ll find style icons like Gene Tierney and Sophia Loren posing provocatively among a wide variety of retro inspiration shots, including a row of colourful umbrellas along the French Riviera and a 1976 Cadillac Deville. “There’s definitely a lot of that ’60s-’70s flavour in my line,” he says. Other influences include cult and vintage French and Italian mob films.
With Cuchè’s 10-year anniversary set for 2014, the designer has already taken the plunge into uncharted waters for this celebratory collection. “I’m going a little more high-end with my regular [suits] and also introducing a new, more affordable line to see if I can compete with the big guys,” he says. In the meantime, his 2012 line-up of beachy lust-haves has been carried through 2013, partially due to its popularity. The Eugénie, a striped halter-inspired top with bra straps paired with a matching Spanish-cut brief, is one of his current best-sellers. “It’s the first year I’ve done a bra-strap style—it looks like lingerie,” he says. Besides swimwear, Rausch also designs tunics, miniskirts and summer frocks, like his ’60s-inspired Boat dress—perfect for strolling the beach or the boardwalk, old Hollywood style.
Aqua di Lara
Reyhan Sofraci knows exactly what real women want. As a swimwear designer with a degree in psychology, she could write a book on female body perception. “Most women judge a bathing suit by its size,” she says. “I don’t think that should be used to determine the right fit.” When the Montreal-based whiz founded Aqua Di Lara in 2005 (she is also the creative director of Qiss Qiss, a junior swim line aimed at high schoolers and college students), she set out to cater her couture-inspired suits to the curvy set. “I have [that kind of] body, so I wanted something that suited big hips, big chests and small waists,” she says. Mission accomplished—one of the brand’s signature looks is the hourglass silhouette: sexy yet sophisticated.
Several times a year, Sofraci travels to Europe to source high-tech fabrics for upcoming collections. “Italian [textiles] provide more novelty, it’s newly engineered,” she says. The company introduced glossy-looking fabrics because of their quick-dry quality. “They also offer good recovery,” she says. “Wear them 10 times, and they’ll still go back to their original shape.” This season, Aqua Di Lara separated its collection into two labels. “White has a feminine, goddess look, and Black keeps things edgy, dark and classic. I am an eclectic person, so this was a way for me to express my love in two forms.” Fit, construction and style—sounds like a shore thing. »
Minnow Bathers
Crazy camping adventures, cliff-diving and moonlit dips in the pool—when it comes to suiting up for summer, Minnow designers (and best friends) Karen Donaldson and Vanessa Warrack are inspired by the nostalgia of youth. “Growing up, I had a cottage, so bathing suits were really important,” says Warrack. “You put your swimsuit on with your jean shorts in the morning, went out on your bike and had a great day.” Launched in 2009, this Toronto-based swimwear label offers pin-up-worthy bikinis—think kitschy-cool, not Kate Upton—and unique one-pieces that play up colour, print and transparency. Given that both designers have filled their own closets with vintage finds, it comes as no surprise that their handmade creations for the sun and sand often reflect the same aesthetic. “When we started designing, no one was really making high-waisted styles, so we began making our own,” says Warrack. “[They’re] very flattering.”
The duo’s latest collection (they only design one per year) takes water babies in a more grown-up direction. “We’ve gone stronger and more slick, a bit darker than we have in past seasons,” says Warrack. “A lot of our fabrics have a sci-fi reference. One of them looks tie-dyed but it also looks like an eclipse of the moon.” With style names like “Rock Band” (a bandeau with a high-waisted bottom showered in a dusty meteor-inspired print) and “Cosmic Pyramid” (a one-piece maillot featuring an abstract space print and a triangular front cut-out) as well as retail accounts in Canada, the U.S. and Australia, it’s clear the planets have aligned for this talented local team.
Tosca Delfino
When it comes to designing swimwear, Tosca Delfino’s prints are her true passion. From sea creatures to skylines, the Toronto-based designer is known on the scene for her print-tastic pieces. “I began developing them because I wanted something more personal and different than the textiles available in fabric stores,” she says. With over 10 years of fashion experience (she attended Toronto’s George Brown College and Milan’s Istituto di Moda Burgo, then honed her skills at labels like Missoni and Arthur Mendonça), Delfino could have easily taken the ready-to-wear route, but a move to Australia in 2009 sparked her interest in starting a swimwear line. She introduced her eponymous designs in 2010 while living Down Under, then, following a short stint back in Italy, she showed at Toronto’s Spring 2012 fashion week.
Despite the fact that she’s rooted back on Canadian soil, travel continues to be a constant source of inspiration. “I design my prints from photographs that I take and then manipulate them with Photoshop, or they’re taken from my actual drawings,” she says. Sun-soaked adventures to Thailand and the Cayman Islands have allowed her to peek inside these real-life picture postcards. “I get inspired by traditions, architecture and body types,” she says. Currently, manufacturing takes place in Brazil, but as of 2014 everything will be 100 per cent Canadian. Cover-ups will also be included in the next wave, but for now her swim fans are suiting up in this season’s ’70s-style maillots and classic triangle bikinis. Printed, of course.
Photography: Cuchè by Erickson House; Sofraci by Yanick Dery
Photography: Donaldson and Warrack by Arden Wray; Tosca Delfino by Rebecca Davidson
