It’s time to put a new brand in the spotlight. Now that temperatures are rising and the sun is showing itself more, a good bikini is a must-have in your summer wardrobe. But what if most bikini tops are not available in your size? Charlotte van Oorschot experienced the same problem and started her own swimwear brand Via di Gioia as a rescue. 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 AMFI, but did not complete the program. After that, she switched to psychology. “Still, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go into fashion.” Via di Gioia was born out of frustration. “Since my teenage years, I have always had a large cup size, but a narrow circumference. I never fit into the standard ‘small, medium, large’ sizes and often a bikini top with cup sizes goes from A to D.” Van Oorschot ends up at specialized lingerie stores. “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 range of sizes from A to G.
Product
Via di Gioia is launching a collection consisting of three bikini sets that can be mixed and matched. “The collection offers multiple fits of the tops and bottoms, so that women can always choose which fit suits their body best,” says Van Oorschot. There are three bikini tops; The Balcony, The Plunge in The Triangleand four pairs of pants; the High Waist, The Brazilian in V-Shape show a little more nudity, and The Classic is a classic model.
To achieve the right fits for her collection, Van Oorschot conducted market research. “It soon became apparent that women with larger cup sizes were looking for a bikini top that fits like a glove. The top should provide sufficient support and not feel tight.” Van Oorschot opts for a thicker fabric that feels soft and has a high stretch retention. She also examines the lining. “This is often a thin fabric that has some stretch, but does not provide any support. I choose to also use the fabric from the outside of the bikini as a lining. That provides extra support and a very good lift. In addition, the cups are provided with a non-stretch mesh fabric on the outside.” Breasts often tend to fall to the side. “Anyone who wears my bikini will notice that her breasts are automatically centered.” In short, the bikini top centers and lifts the breasts. The firm fabric also provides some compression. “In total, that provides very good support.”
The bikini tops are available in cup sizes A to G with circumference sizes 70 to 95. “That’s a total of 49 different sizes.” The three tops are also available in three colours. “That would mean that with 450 bikini tops you would have one piece of each top. You often buy about ten pieces of each size. That is a huge amount in terms of production and stock.” As a start-up, Van Oorschot does not have the budget for that, she says honestly. “Moreover, overproduction is a huge problem.” How does the fashion entrepreneur tackle this issue without shrinking in her size range? Simple, she uses a well-known technique that makes her bikinis adjustable. “Often only the shoulder straps are adjustable. I also use this technique for the circumference, but with a stiffer slider so that it does not shift easily. In this way, a top is suitable for three sizes at the same time; 70, 75 and 80, and 85, 90 and 95.” Van Oorschot also opts for The Balcony to focus on larger cup sizes. The Triangle focuses on smaller cup sizes. “Not all cup sizes are available for every top. So I end up offering 33 cup sizes and have reduced my production by sixty percent.”
Sustainability
The decision to reduce her production was not only based on the available budget. The fashion entrepreneur also makes sustainability a standard. “I don’t want to make products that are at the expense of the planet or the people who make them.” A fine ambition, but it did not make her search for the right supplier any easier. Van Oorschot searched for a suitable partner for over 1.5 years. “My requirements were quite high – I am a small player with a relatively low budget, but I find it essential to work with a factory that is certified by a third party with regard to sustainability and working conditions.” In addition, the manufacturer must be experienced in making bikinis in (large) cup sizes. “Most manufacturers with experience in cup sizes are in the lingerie world and do not have the right machines for producing swimwear.” So, only a few remained. “In the end, I went to a lot of trade fairs; in Paris, Cannes, Istanbul etc., where I pitched my company with my designs under my arm. A manufacturer hired two start-ups every year and I became one of them. That was fantastic!”
The producer is based in Tunisia and is SA8000 certified. This means that the factories have safe workplaces, the employees receive a living wage and waste and chemicals are handled in an environmentally friendly way. The bikinis contain 84 percent polyester, which is made from 100 percent recycled material. The stretch fabric is not yet fully made from recycled material, because it is still difficult to obtain, Van Oorschot explains. The fabrics come from Barcelona. The company Estilmar fishes plastic from the Mediterranean Sea, which is then processed into yarns and ultimately forms a fabric. The factory also runs on solar energy and emits little CO2.
Signature
Via di Gioia has a Mediterranean look, a certain feminine elegance, that’s how the fashion entrepreneur describes the brand. “I like to see the brand as a studio. Many fashion brands start their name with ‘Maison’ or ‘Casa di’. I made a variation on that by starting with ‘Via’ – which means ‘the way’ in Italian. ‘Gioia’ stands for ‘joy’. And There you go: Via di Gioia – The Road to Joy.”
Furthermore, the bikinis in cup sizes with an authentic design for young women are the signature of the brand. “I bring the authenticity in designs forward with embroidery, I have a preference for that. That will come back in every collection.”
Unique Selling Point
“The brand has a wide range of sizes 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, or all three USPs, this brand is a dream!”
Target audience
Via di Gioia focuses on women between 20 and 40 years old. “But those who are younger or older can certainly 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 40-plus. I see a gap in the market for younger women.”
Retail
The first collection is available via the worldwide webshop. Via di Gioia also celebrates its launch with a pop-up store at SF/Collective on Haarlemmerstraat 72 in Amsterdam. The pop-up store is open in July and August from Thursday to Saturday (12:00 to 18:00).
The fashion entrepreneur also indicates that she wants to make the step to wholesale. For that, she is looking for (inter)national wholesalers. “I see Via di Gioia at lingerie shops and department stores. For example, it would be 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 nice story. In addition, Dutch consumers often go to lingerie shops to shop for 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 nice brands that Via di Gioia fits in with.”
Segment
“The brand is in the mid-high segment. A bikini set costs an average of 150 euros – slightly cheaper than the brands found in De Bijenkorf.”
Future
A short-term goal is to realize a second collection. “To make that possible, I need to sell enough of my first collection. Designing my second collection starts in September, so these are the months in which the marketing, sales and brand awareness have 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.”
Source: fashionunited.nl
