INDUSTRY ISSUES
Planning Swim Strategy for Year-Round Success in a Season-Specific Category
By Dorothy Crouch, Contributing Writer | May 8, 2025
California Apparel News asked swim-industry insiders: What is the single most-important piece of advice you feel is crucial for your associates, colleagues and peers to plan a successful swim strategy for the remainder of the year?
Hurley Family Unveils New Brand With Surf Star
John John Florence, a two-time world champion surfer, recently announced that he was starting a new brand called Florence Marine X. Scheduled to launch for Spring 2021, Florence Marine X will offer men’s apparel, board shorts, wet suits and other categories.
Banshee Swim Enters the Industry Screaming a Message of Acceptance and Transparency
Growing up in Washington state, Amanda Fronckowiak always sewed clothes, aspiring to become a designer, but she didn’t know on what category she wanted to focus. Fronckowiak might not have envisioned a swimwear-design future, but that changed during an internship in California prior to her graduation from Central Washington University.
From Rio With Love, Bromelia Shares Its Vibrancy in Colorful Swimwear
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Bromelia Swimwear maintains its Carioca roots after a move to Los Angeles, as customers seek joy in bright colors with fun patterns to elevate the summer mood.
Shantelle Brumfield Sets Ethical Mission Through Yarn Movement’s Crocheted Swimwear
After learning the artistry of crochet from her grandmother’s friend at the age of 12, Shantelle Brumfield found that this craft could create opportunities. A young entrepreneur by the time she entered high school, Brumfield—or S.LadyBug, which is the name she designs under—had developed a business bringing handmade goods to her classmates in Benicia, Calif.
After Facing COVID‑19 Shutdowns, Swim Retailers Look Toward Digital Opportunities
Since its founding in 2015, the swimwear shop Coast by Coast has always been a small operation. When sisters and co-owners Kristen and Lauren Cleary launched the store, they found themselves too busy to start an e-commerce shop.
Bleu Rod Beattie Resort 2021 Reflects on 35 Years as the Designer Looks to the Future
While discussing the past seven months of extraordinary change in the fashion industry, Rod Beattie relays his gratitude for having a bit of luck.
Billabong Shines at 16th Annual SIMA Awards
The Billabong brand took trophies for three of the significant categories in the 16th SIMA Awards, the surf industry’s awards show.
Connection to California Inspires L.A.-Made Beach Bum Bikinis
After breaking through the traditional water-wear calendar of the past, the swim category now enjoys business year-round, meaning designers and buyers must remain ahead of style and textile trends.
Coast by Coast Is On the Move
After a career working as a merchandiser and buyer for Victoria’s Secret’s swim division and later for Macy’s, Kristen Cleary decided to buy a Volkswagen bus and go on the road. Her travels took her all across America and eventually to her own bricks-and-mortar swim shop, Coast by Coast, which she opened recently in downtown Los Angeles.
Surf Rides Into Uncharted Waters After a String of Consolidations
When it was announced on Oct. 29 that Nike Inc. had sold the influential Hurley International brand, it was the latest deal that had many surf watchers questioning the direction of the surf industry.
Indulgent Surf-and-Swim Pieces Highlight Heidi Merrick’s Autumn/Winter 2019 Collection
Designing for a client who embraces the California lifestyle, Heidi Merrick created her Autumn/Winter 2019 collection to empower women who take care of business but also enjoy the simple pleasures of life such as the coastal beauty found in the region.
Miami Swim Week 2019 Offers Fresh Takes on Swimwear—and Everything Else
As designers, brands, buyers and influencers descended upon south Florida for Miami Swim Week, there was much competition for business on the trade-event circuit plus newcomers making it to the runway.
Swim Week’s Swim the Globe Gains a Sustainable Component
During its third installment, Swim the Globe, which was held at the Sagamore South Beach July 11–14, hosted an eco-friendly component during Miami Swim Week.
Happy Socks Treads Into the Swimwear World
More than a decade ago, a Swedish advertising executive and an illustrator banded together in Stockholm to start Happy Socks with the goal to make the world a happier place with some crazy-looking socks with colorful prints.
Catch a Trendy Wave
Summer practically never ends in Southern California, where the young and restless are always ready to don a swimsuit to lounge by the swimming pool, hit the beach or party in the desert at a music festival.
