INSIDER INTERVIEW: Island Company Swimwear

Yours truly, Privydoll holds Island Company swimwear close to her heart as one of the first dips into the fashion pool when they were a start up company on the brink of greatness. Styling their first catalog and working their first PR events were a blast and I have been a fan of the line since then. What feels like eons ago, the line now has men's trunks and have expanded to clothing and anything beach. I caught up with my friend and owner of Island Company to hear what is next for IC and what new additions are coming. They were kind enough to give PrivyDoll readers an exclusive 10% discount through October with Coupon code 'Privydoll'. Stock up now on classic,. great fitting suits! Privydoll approved!

Label/Company Name:  ISLAND COMPANY          

Name:  Spencer Antle

PrivyDoll: 3 words to describe your label: classic, classic, classic.

PD: In your opinion what is next season’s trend?  I wouldn’t know. I don’t follow trends.

PD: How do you incorporate runway trends into your swimwear line? I don’t have the first clue about trends.  I think trends are the quickest way to failure in fashion.  If next year was going to be forecast all about ‘plaid’, by the time I got to producing ‘plaid’-inspired designs, 1-2 months of design, 3-6 months of production, one month sailing from Asia to here on a container ship, 2 weeks to get to the stores to sell, Target and old Navy would have clobbered that trend to death.  Better to just stick to the basics.

PD:What are your favorite materials to use?  Linen, cotton and God’s favorite: quick dry polyester. (for the boardshorts).  But I love linen.  Many designers and retailers are scared of it, but I love it.  It’s the true fabric of the tropics…

PD:Favorite place for brainstorming and day dreaming:  Jamaica - on the cliff at LTU Pub in Negril.

PD:The line has been expanding to beachwear and sunscreen. What can we expect next?  More retail stores.  We have 5 now and we have deals for 3-5 more across the world.  And I just designed a line of stand-up paddleboards we are selling in the stores.  We have a line of jewelry, more suncare products coming and also we are working on more video content.  There’s possibly a television show coming and an album.  It’s all Island Company themed, or based around the company and brand.  And we’re expanding our sportswear which is now 95% of the line.  Swimwear is only 2% now.

PD: What kind of press/marketing/celeb spotings has your line received?  We’ve been on the cover of WWD, SELF, and were just on the cover of SHAPE with jewel rocking one of our bikinis.  Johnny Depp, Richard Branson, Daniel Craig, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt all wear our stuff.  Bruce Springsteen was just in our Palm Beach store the other day buying a bunch of trunks.

PD: What sets your swimwear line apart from the others?  Fit.  I make sure that Island Company swimwear fits consistently and fairly.  A girl that’s a size 4-6 shouldn’t be wearing a large.  As I was once told, ‘it doesn’t matter how cute your stuff is if it doesn’t fit.’  That lesson rings in my head every time we’re on our 3^rd fit sample.

PD:And Lastly, spill the Privy find:  (Website, twitter etc. where readers can find your line)

www.islandcompany.com




Exclusive Discount Code for PrivyDoll Readers: 

 “privydoll”  10% off till October1!