It’s time to put a new brand in the spotlight. As temperatures rise and the sun makes more of an appearance, a good bikini is a must-have for any summer wardrobe. But what if most bikini tops aren’t available in your size? Netherlands-based Charlotte van Oorschot experienced the same problem and started her own swimwear brand Via di Gioia as a remedy. FashionUnited spoke to Van Oorschot about the first collection, the brand’s signature and future plans.
Van Oorschot has a background in fashion and psychology. She studied at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI), but didn’t complete the course, instead opting to move into psychology. “However, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go into fashion,” she noted. As such, Via di Gioia arose out of frustration. “Since my teenage years, I’ve always had a large cup size, but a small frame. I never fit into the standard ‘small, medium, large’ sizes and often a bikini top with cup sizes from A to D just wouldn’t work,” Van Oorschot said, noting this would lead her to specialist lingerie shops. “But there, bikinis for larger cup sizes are often designed for an older target group. They are very covering. I was looking for something that suited my age; a hipper design, fashionable and a bit sexier.” Via di Gioia is the answer to Van Oorschot’s frustration and offers stylish swimwear in a wide size range from A to G.
Product
Via di Gioia has launched with a collection consisting of three bikini sets that can be mixed and matched. “The collection offers multiple fits for the tops and bottoms, so women can always choose which fit best suits their body,” said Van Oorschot. There are three bikini tops; The Balcony, The Plunge and The Triangle, and four bottoms; the High Waist, The Brazilian and V-Shape show a bit more skin, and The Classic is a more traditional model.
To achieve the right fits for her collection, Van Oorschot conducted market research: “It quickly became clear that women with larger cup sizes are looking for a bikini top that fits like a glove. The top must provide sufficient support and not feel constricting.” As such, Van Oorschot opted for a thicker fabric that felt soft and had a high stretch-retention. She also took a closer look at the lining. “This is often a thin fabric with some stretch, but it doesn’t offer any support. I choose to use the fabric from the outside of the bikini as lining as well. This provides extra support and a very good lift. In addition, the cups on the outside are fitted with a non-stretch mesh fabric.” Breasts often tend to fall to the sides. “Anyone wearing my bikini will notice that their breasts are automatically centred.” In short, the bikini top centres and lifts the breasts. The sturdy fabric also provides some compression. “Overall, that gives a very nice support.”
The bikini tops are available in EU cup sizes A to G (UK A to F) with band sizes 70 to 95 (UK 32 to 42). “That’s a total of 49 different sizes.” The three tops are also available in three colours. “That would mean that you would have one piece of each top in 450 bikini tops. You often buy about ten pieces of each size. That’s a huge amount in terms of production and stock.” Van Oorschot, as a start-up, doesn’t have the budget for that, she said honestly, adding that “overproduction is a huge problem”.
How does the fashion entrepreneur tackle this issue without shrinking her size range? Simple, she applies a well-known technique that makes her bikinis adjustable. “Often only the shoulder straps are adjustable. I also apply this technique to the band size, but with a sturdier slider so that it doesn’t shift easily. This makes a top suitable for three sizes at once.” Van Oorschot also chooses to focus on larger cup sizes with The Balcony, while The Triangle focuses on smaller cup sizes. “Not all cup sizes are available for every top. So, I ultimately offer 33 cup sizes and have reduced my production by 60 percent.”
Sustainability
The decision to reduce her production was not only based on the available budget. The fashion entrepreneur also makes sustainability a norm. “I don’t want to make products that come at the expense of the planet or the people who make them.” A beautiful goal, but it didn’t make her search for the right supplier any easier. Van Oorschot spent over 1.5 years looking for a suitable partner. “My requirements were quite high – I’m a small player with a relatively low budget, but I think it’s essential to work with a factory that is certified by a third party in terms of sustainability and working conditions.”
In addition, the manufacturer must be experienced in making bikinis in (large) cup sizes. “Most producers with experience in cup sizes are in the lingerie world and don’t have the right machines for producing swimwear.” So, only a few remained. “In the end, I went to a lot of trade shows; in Paris, Cannes, Istanbul etc., where I pitched my company with my designs under my arm. One producer took on two start-ups annually and I was one of them. That was fantastic!”
The producer is based in Tunisia and is SA8000 certified. This means that the factories have safe workplaces, employees receive a living wage, and waste and chemicals are handled in an environmentally friendly way. The bikinis contain 84 percent polyester made from 100 percent recycled material. The stretch fabric, on the other hand, is not yet fully made from recycled material, as this is still difficult to obtain, explained Van Oorschot. The fabrics come from Barcelona, where the company Estilmar collects plastic from the Mediterranean Sea, which is then processed into yarns and ultimately forms a fabric. The factory also operates on solar energy and emits little CO2.
Signature
Via di Gioia has a Mediterranean look and a certain feminine elegance, as the fashion entrepreneur described the brand. “I like to see the brand as an atelier. Many fashion brands start their name with ‘Maison de’ or ‘Casa di’. I made a variation on that by starting with ‘Via’ – which means ‘the way’ in Italian. ‘Gioia’ stands for ‘joy’. Et voila: Via di Gioia – The way of joy.”
Furthermore, the bikinis in cup sizes with an authentic design for young women are the brand’s signature. “I bring out the authenticity in designs with embroidery, which I have a fondness for. That will be reflected in every collection.”
Unique Selling Point
“The brand has a wide range of band and cup sizes. In addition, the designs are very detailed when it comes to texture and embroidery. You don’t see that very often in the swimwear industry. Finally, sustainability and ethical production are important. For the consumer who values this highly, or all three USPs, this brand is a dream!”
Target Group
Via di Gioia focuses on women between the ages of 20 and 40. “But anyone younger or older can definitely wear the bikinis. The focus of the target group is mainly on the fit of the bikinis. There are also brands with bikinis in larger cup sizes, but they often focus on the 40-plus age group. I see a gap in the market for younger women.”
Retail
The first collection is available through the global webshop. Via di Gioia also celebrated its launch with a pop-up store at SF/Collective in Amsterdam, which is open July through August from Thursday to Saturday.
The fashion entrepreneur further indicated that she wants to take the step into wholesale. For this, she is looking for (inter)national wholesalers. “I see Via di Gioia being sold in lingerie shops and department stores. It’s a dream to be in the Bijenkorf (Netherlands), Galeries Lafayette (France) or Rinascimento (Italy). These department stores sell cool brands of good quality and with a good story. In addition, Dutch consumers often go to lingerie shops to buy bikinis, so these shops in the same price range also seem suitable for Via di Gioia. There will certainly also be individual shops that sell beautiful brands where Via di Gioia fits in.”
Segment
“The brand is in the mid-high segment. A bikini set costs an average of 150 euros – slightly cheaper than the brands you find in the Bijenkorf.”
Future
A short-term goal is to realise a second collection. “To make that possible, I need to sell enough of my first collection. The design of my second collection starts in September, so these are the months in which marketing, sales and brand awareness need to succeed.”
In the long term, Van Oorschot wants to make Via di Gioia ‘the most famous swimwear brand in the world’. “I’m also thinking about opening flagship stores in major coastal cities, such as Barcelona and Miami.”
This article originally appeared on http://FashionUnited.NL . Translation via AI and edit by Rachel Douglass.