REMAINING STOCK ONLY, DUE TO CESSATION OF FABRIC SUPPLY.
There are moments in any creative enterprise, when you feel possibilities converging in greater numbers than you originally thought even existed. Take this swimsuit, with its specially milled gingham check and seersucker, stretch-woven fabric, combined with a level of shape control not available in mass-market swimwear. I didn't know beauty like this could even be aimed for, when I started this venture.
Starting from the inside, the lining is the same kind of stretch-woven fabric Australia has used to ensure its ongoing dominance of competitive swimming: we win 7.3 Olympic medals per million inhabitants, compared to 1.7 by swimmers from the U.S.. Near weightless, shape control fabric is one factor in maintaining our status, as the world's premier swimming nation.
But as you can see with this swimsuit, the same textiles technology can be used to produce fashion fabric that would have been inconceivable for swimwear, before stretch-woven textiles existed. I have had just one small roll milled especially for Pride (no more exists) with a seersucker texture and metallic gold fibres on the weft. Like the lining, this fabric dries faster, is slow to become wet, provides medal-winning figure control and resists abrasion much better than any other stretch fabric. It also looks and feels stunning!
The inspiration for this milling comes from my early childhood. Very English dinners at my grand parents' house, would be followed by dishwashing by pa, while us grandkids were handed tea towels and made to dry up. My grandparents' tea towels were made from seersucker check fabric, exactly like this, except cotton.
Leg Line
A high leg in a Pride swimsuit, means one that crosses that part of your hip where you have the least subcutaneous fat. It is also a leg line that will visually lengthen your leg. While it is not a g-string, you can wear it cheeky, with only minimal gathering of fabric behind.
Neckline
Echoing the legline, the subtle V-neck works to emphasise the vertical thrust of this swimsuit, while lending a nineteen-fifties vibe to the piece - that's the decade when my grandparents invested in tea towels.
Features
- A high leg line lengthens your legs in the eyes of the viewer, while a V-neck continues the vertical motion.
- Side darts allow for the bust and help the fabric do its thing with regards to support.
- To ensure the seams remain hidden, the lining to the front panel has been secured to the rubber across the full width of the neckline and through the leg seams to the crotch.
- O-rings and 8-sliders are rack plated and moulded for Pride to double as a decorative feature.
Constitution
- Every fibre consists of an elastane core encased within nylon and polyester, so it can stretch in a weave.
- The lining is the same fabric, but white, and 143gsm to support the smart tailored look and provide unrivalled figure control.
- All threads are UV and chlorine resistant polyester.
- For elasticity and endurance, 0.63mm thick treated latex has been used in the following widths: 6mm across the front leg seams; and 8mm across the neck, buttocks and back seams and through the adjustable straps.
- Electrostatic rack plating contains no heavy metals, for example cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, nickel or lead.
Credits
- Each piece individually cut and sewn in Newcastle East in Australia.
- Design and prototyping by Steven Fleming