How did Prism start? I was looking for glasses and just couldn’t find any I wanted. I realized that they are as important an accessory as any other, and it’s crazy the amount of time we spend choosing shoes or a bag – except these are more important as you wear them on your face! It’s the first thing you see on someone… I was working as a trends journalist traveling the world – going to the shows and looking at street style in places from Rio to Paris and was inspired by vintage styles people were wearing and I was finding in markets but you couldn’t buy in a consistent way, as a high-quality product.
Why did you wait to launch sunglasses? For me it was really about the fact that there were no optical glasses on the market. I had some of my optical frames made into sunglasses samples just for myself to wear – and lots of friends and customers started asking for them so I thought if I want them and they want them…
I was always in search of the perfect bikini top and the perfect bottoms and I always mix and match tops and bottoms that I find all over the world. I only started wearing glasses in the last five years or so as my eyes got worse – so designing glasses was actually more of a wildcard to people that know me, whereas swimwear is always something I’ve been into. So when I launched the sunglasses – I felt it made sense to do it as a package – sunglasses and swimwear together. For me it’s all about the outfit together. The sunglasses I designed for this season go with the swimwear; it’s all part and parcel of the same look.
Tell us a bit about the suits. I wanted to make swimwear that was mini malist, not fussy and high-quality but also sexy – something women were excited about wearing without it being too over the top. Something that makes women look and feel as good as they possibly can when they are wearing so little. It’s really all about the detail. I took inspiration from underwear – but mainly in the fit – so that there is support there when you need it or push up padding to make your boobs look amazing. It’s also really about flattering, clean lines and quite fashion-forward shapes and color palette. The minute details were essential too, such as all of the suits being double-lined so that they pull you in, and aren’t at all see-through. And everything has detachable straps so that you don’t get strange tan lines.
I think that swimwear moves in a parallel to fashion trends – and I think it’s great to take ideas from the fashion at the moment, colors for example or fits. But I’m not so into the idea of wearing a super over-the-top swimsuit on the beach – for example a multi-strap cut-out swimsuit may look amazing in a shoot – but I feel like on the beach you want to look sexy but don’t want it to look too much. You also don’t want something where you’re going to end up with zebra-stripe tan-lines!
This winter is driving us nuts. Where would you be poolside if you weren’t stuck in frosty London? Oooh well, I named all the suits after amazing places where I imagined wearing each one. Positano is the name of one of favorite bikini top styles, named after my favorite place in Italy – it’s a bit cold there this time of year though. Puerto Viejo, in Costa Rica, (which I named the u-shaped bandeau bikini top after) or Uluwatu – the southern tip of Bali, one the best surf spots – (I named the mini-shirt bottoms after this spot) – either of those destinations would do me just fine at this time of year…
Prism is available at Opening Ceremony and prismlondon.com
Photo: Danielle Levitt
