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• January 30, 2008
• Profiles

Swim Fan

Australia-based label Lover takes a dive into swimwear.

By Naomi Nevitt

"When we began to look at the current swimwear market, a lot of it was either Glamour Martinis by the poolside or Brazilian Sexy on the beach," says Nic Briand and Susien Chong, the designers behind Austrailian womenswear label Lover. "We thought, neither of those applied to the woman we design for."

After the universal buzz over the pair's sleek body-suit pieces featured in their main line for spring and a successful test run Down Under, the duo—now in their seventh season—will unveil their first swimwear collection stateside this spring. Complementing the nostalgic feel of their chief spring/summer '08 line entitled Electric Ladyland, the collection's lace one-piece suits as well as pretty triangle bikinis and key-hole halters in muted shades of orange, lavender, and cream personify a cool new attitude in beachwear, one that's stylish but still inherently sexy.

With a nod to the early '70s rock sensibility of female musicians like Patti Smith, Lover's bikinis and one-pieces beautifully embody both a romanic and renegade spirit. "We were inspired by Sissy Spacek's [pale] skin and freckles from the film 3 Women," say Briand and Chong. "We wanted the collection to be worn by a girl who might jump a fence to sneak into their neighbor's pool." Sign us up.

For more information and availability this spring, go to www.loverthelabel.com.

Australia-based label Lover takes a dive into swimwear.