Expert Swim Fit Tips

We've been wearing Melissa Odabash's swimsuits for years and it's safe to say we are a bit obsessed. We turned to her for some swim suit fit wisdom AND to say thank you for creating an amazing swim suit with Rachel!

‘It’s always summer somewhere’ and I guess it was always inevitable that my favourite season would somehow become related to my work. When I look back at my career I can’t help but think how lucky I was to fall into swimwear modeling, plus Italy was the perfect location to spend my twenties – the men, the food and the cities, it was the time of my life. I worked wherever the shows were, most often in Milan and Paris.

My progression into designing swimwear myself happened really naturally, when I was modeling I’d constantly hear all the technical talk from the designers about cut and fit which helped me understand not only what I was wearing but also what was the most important information from a design perspective. I soon found, whilst modeling so much swimwear - a gap in the market. Believe it or not, there were no bikinis in classic shapes and colours, so I decided to do something about it!

For me, summer always means the arrival swimwear season – whether it’s for a chic beach party, lounging by the pool or something more active, whatever event a woman has, she should be wearing swimwear that makes her feel confident In the past couple of year’s I’d say there’s been a definite rise in demand for one-pieces again. There was a time when all that mattered was getting a tan and everyone wanted itsy-bitsy bikinis, but now because of social media, ‘beachlife’ has become one big catwalk. Everyone is more fashion orientated on their travels and are looking for more striking swimwear to show off. One-pieces have much more scope for different cuts, embellishments and trims, so that’s why I’d say we’ve seen them make a bit of a comeback.

This is what led to my collaboration with Rachel; she wanted to create some statement swimwear to offer to her customers and reached out to me. I really enjoyed the process of working with Rachel and coming up with much more extravagant pieces than I’m used to.

We took heavy inspiration from the runways and felt that statement embellishment was the way forward. The pieces have a very luxurious feel to them and are definitely eye-catching for all the right reasons.  Hot! -  would definitely be the word I’d use to describe the cut of this swimsuit, it shows a lot of flesh yet hides areas that we women may not always be comfortable with.

After all, it’s so important to consider what women will want to wear when designing, as well as how pieces will fit different shapes and sizes. Fit really is the most important thing when buying swimwear, women so often buy things that are too big and then go saggy once they’ve been in the water or buy the wrong styles for their body shape. If you have a small bust, wear a bandeau as this gives the illusion of curves and if you are a pear shape buy something with tie-sides to help break up the hip area, it’s all about wearing what works for you!

TIP: Buy the correct size