Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Ryan.
Hi Amy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My mission has always been to find ways to empower women through fashion. I came up with the idea for this company, Atalantia Swimwear, while I was managing a swimwear boutique in Soho, NYC: a brand called Vilebrequin. The boutique sold both men’s and women’s swimwear but they were most well-known for men’s swimwear. Women would come into the boutique to shop with their boyfriends or husbands and I would always try to encourage them to try out our new bikinis or one-pieces while their boyfriends shopped. It shocked me to see how nearly all of these women seemed so uncomfortable with the idea of trying on swimsuits for themselves, stating that they needed to lose weight, or that they weren’t happy with their body in a swimsuit, or that they couldn’t even bear the thought of putting on a swimsuit right now. These women were all so beautiful in my eyes so I was surprised to hear so much panic in their voices when they were faced with the idea of shopping for a swimsuit. I realized that most women, even women who seem very fit and look like supermodels to me, seem to get insecure when faced with the idea of putting on a swimsuit. I know that I have personally felt that way since I was about 21. So it gave me the idea that I should do something about that: if this is a real problem that is causing women to feel insecure and uncomfortable, then I wanted to design swimsuits that were fashion-forward and beautiful, but also designed and cut in a way that flatters the female body. I came up with the idea of using corsetry and lingerie techniques, as well as optical illusions and strategically cut lines to achieve this.
Around the time that I came up with this business idea, the pandemic started and New York seemed to be the epicenter of the virus. The store that I managed closed down for 3 months and I saw this as an opportunity to focus my attention 100% on building the business and creating my first designs.
My background is in footwear design. I studied at Cordwainers, London College of Fashion, where I learned how to design and create leather shoes by hand. I love working with my hands and this is also how I learn. So when I came up with the idea for this swimwear brand, I started designing the swimsuits and creating rough prototypes by hand on my dress form. I studied corset making by watching YouTube videos and finding vintage corset patterns online, and learned all about how lingerie is made, and started implementing these details into my designs. Corsets contain a rigid boning which gives the garment structure and helps to flatten the stomach and create a certain shape on the body. There is a flexible boning you can use these days which is much more comfortable on the body. I played around with using corset boning in swimsuits, as a method to flatten the stomach. After a lot of research into factories all over the world, I found a factory in Bali that was willing to work with me and my crazy ideas, and they created some prototypes for me using boning on the front of the swimsuits. When I got my samples back, I was so excited to see how comfortable the swimsuits were: more comfortable and less constricting than shapewear, but incredibly flattering.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have definitely been challenges. I made the decision to continue working full-time since I officially launched this business at the end of 2021, so it has left me with very little time to devote to growing my brand. I also went through a big life change this year and moved from NYC to Austin Texas. The growth of my business has been very slow because of this. But there have been some wonderful moments, like seeing my swimsuits on the runway at Miami Swim Week this past July. It was a very spontaneous thing. I had decided to go to Miami Swim Week just to network and to see what it’s like, so I could decide whether I should participate next year. While I was in Miami, I visited different independent swimwear boutiques and pitched my brand to the owners, to see if they might like to form a wholesale partnership with me. I met with the owner of a boutique called IShine365 the day before Miami Swim Week started. They liked my designs and decided to sell them in their boutique. Then they asked me if I would be doing a show for Miami Swim Week. I said no. They told me that they were doing a show the next day, and were looking for one more designer to participate in the show with them and asked me if I was interested. I enthusiastically said yes! And the next night, I was able to watch my swimsuits walk down the runway in Miami Beach. They had chosen one of my designs as the first look of the show, and I don’t think my heart has ever beat so fast. It was an incredible surprise. I also participated in Austin Fashion Week recently which was an incredible experience. The event organizers, models and photographers were all so amazing to work with and I had the best time. I wanted my models to look like empowered Grecian goddesses so I got golden leaf crowns and gold jewelry, and draped chiffon on a few of the models for a dramatic look. I told the models that I wanted them to feel completely fearless, unstoppable and empowered while they were walking. I had them walk to a few songs from Beyonce’s new album: Energy, and Break My Soul. They absolutely owned it and ruled that runway.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I want to empower women- that has always been the heart of why I want to be a success in the fashion industry. There are a few ways I am trying to do that right now: One, through helping women to feel more confident and comfortable than ever in a swimsuit, and hopefully reminding them of how gorgeous they truly are. I don’t want women to feel held back or to feel the need to hide in the shadows if they would really prefer to be basking in the sun on a beach somewhere, living their best life. Two, by supporting a non-profit which works to rescue and restore female survivors of sex trafficking. The organization we work with is called Catalyst Ministries. They have locations in Illinois and in Texas. We give 5% of all of our profits to them.
And three, by working to change the way that the fashion industry views women. There is still so much sexual objectification of women going on in the fashion industry and honestly, I am tired of it. I aim to always create a space where women are treated with the utmost respect and dignity. This means that we will never use nudity or overt sexuality for the male gaze as a marketing tool- something that is far too common in this industry. In our eyes, empowering women means ensuring that our models feel comfortable, safe and dignified at all times. And that we set a positive example in this industry.
What are your plans for the future?
Next year, I am planning to do Summer pop-up shop events in Austin. I would really love to have the opportunity to interact with potential customers face to face, to see their reaction to our swimwear designs and hear feedback directly from them on anything we could be doing better. And to be able to create relationships face to face would be so invaluable to me. I plan to participate in Austin Fashion Week again as well: most likely we will just do a pop-up shop with them next year. And I plan to focus more on our marketing strategy, to really focus on growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://atalantiaswimwear.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atalantiaswimwear/?hl=en
Image Credits
Ming Chen Photography
