Weekender A designer’s guide to swimming in style

By Lee Hyo-won

Local beaches and outdoor pools have begun opening one after another this week, and this means it’s time to stock up on swimming gear.

Whether you are trying to replace an old, stretched out suit or looking to catch up with the latest fashion trend, anyone who has shopped for swimwear knows it’s not easy to find the perfect fit.

Kang Sun-a, who has been designing swimsuits for 25 years, makes the point quite clear: “Swimsuits are tricky. You have to cover your sensitive areas as well as you can with small patches of fabric,” Kang told The Korea Times in a recent interview in her Seoul workshop.

Numerous brands offer a wide variety of chic ladies’ swimwear. Athletics brands such as Fila offer sporty yet stylish gear while Arena and Renoma are preferred for simple one-piece suits that are chlorine-friendly for an indoor workout.

Elle and Missoni, on the other hand, cater to more feminine tastes, offering finely knit bikinis for a more fashionable day on the beach. Younger women looking for cute yet affordable styles can check out Forever 21.

Interestingly, while shopping for any one of these aforementioned brands, anywhere in the world, you are most likely looking at works by Kang.

The designer began her career in 1987 at Tulip, which was the one and only swimwear company in Korea at the time. She went on to work at Missoni, Elle, Arena and Renoma before setting up her own franchise, THE a STORY. The CEO now exports designs to local and foreign labels, including her former companies as well as new clients like the U.S. casual brand Forever 21. Her designs are much favored by Chinese and other Asian buyers as well.

Swimwear rides hallyu wave

Korean firms have in the past manufactured clothing or accessories for foreign brands but it is a rare occasion for a local company to export designs.

“It’s wonderful, because I get to design a variety of styles, from sporty to really sexy for different brands in different countries,” she said. “It’s exciting to create designs for people around the world.”

It’s interesting, she says, to see how style preferences vary by geographic region. “North Americans and Europeans tend to favor bold and sexy yet simple styles that can be enjoyed and tossed out after one season, while the Japanese seem to prefer lots of details, such as dainty flower patterns and ruffles.” Koreans and Chinese, Kang says, are somewhere in between.

In fact Chinese firms are avid fans of Korean or “hallyu” designs. In eastern China, shopping malls devoted entirely to Korean clothing are highly frequented by young consumers, and it seems swimwear is no exception. “I can really feel firsthand how influential hallyu is. Chinese buyers come to my workshop knowing local trends even better than I do.”

Though Kang is incontestably the country’s top swimwear designer, there was a time when she could not, quite ironically, swim.

She said she was never particularly athletic and wasn’t able to swim until her 30s. But after a decade of creating swimsuits, she finally decided to learn the sport and now swims daily. In fact she makes samples of new designs in her size so she can try them on for a quick dip in the pool for a test run. Afterwards she brings on the necessary changes, such as making the fabric lighter.

“After learning how to swim I was able to alter the design to make bathing suits more comfortable. I realized that designing swimsuits without knowing how to properly swim was like doing something with one eye closed,” she said.

And with both eyes wide open she aims to make swimwear that caters to individual needs.

Customized luxury swimwear

THE a STORY is the only place in Korea where you can get a tailor-made swimsuit.

“Koreans love foreign luxury brands. But swimwear is the one item Koreans rarely buy from these labels because they often don’t fit the physique of Asian women,” said. the CEO. “People have the preconception that swimwear can’t be luxurious, but it’s actually a fashion item.”

And the service is sure high-end at 1 million won a piece. But the demand is considerable says Kang, who has been commissioned to design swimsuits for the 2011 Miss Korea and runners-up so they can wear items that complement their figure in international beauty pageants.

What kind of items are fashionable? In the past, suits featuring prints, such as large tropical flowers, were the dominant trend, said Kang. But from about three years ago, solid colors have been in vogue, giving way for experimentation with texture. Crochet knit, accessories, as well as ruffles and shirring create fun styles.

Monokinis — one piece suits of which big patches of fabric are boldly cut out — are also largely popular. Matching sun dresses or jumpsuits are also high-in-demand.

In terms of color, the conventional floral motif is perennially in style, but feisty animal prints and bold stripes or geometric patterns are gaining a following. Retro 1950s-style swimsuits with high-waist bottoms are also in demand.

She says the job requires a lot of know-how that is vastly different from designing clothing. “You have to understand how prints and textiles work with the body. In particular when it comes to textiles, for example, you can find any kind of fabric at Dongdaemun Market, but not something for swimsuits. It requires working closely with textile manufacturers and developers.”

Having worked in the industry for a quarter-century, Kang has witnessed most of the changes in the production of modern swimming gear — how the manufacturing process has gone eco-friendly with the development of digital print from the silk screening process, which involved the use of toxic chemicals.

“We’re always in need of developing new textiles and technology, and the industry needs more textile designers. We also need more swimwear designers,” she said, explaining how swimwear design is a niche market in fashion.

“Many young designers that come in for interviews are actually looking to use the bathing suit designing experience to try to get into women’s wear.

“But because there are relatively few people specializing in it, it’s a niche market. Also, it’s a very pleasurable yet challenging job since you have to understand the human body and the way it moves well in the water. I hope young designers will look into this field more seriously.”