Which underwater creature or plant particularly
inspires your swimsuit prints?
We chose textures and colors from marine life found in the
Philippines, specifically dive sites near Dumaguete—Dauin,
Siquijor and Apo Island. Our maiden collection was very
much informed by creatures you can find around our home, as
we wanted to start from a place of love, cheesy as it may sound.
the first to admit that the founding of SKINNI and the essence
of it is much more fueled by emotion and sentiment rather than
marketing strategies and business niches. While the business
approach from SKINNI has benefited from my past working
lives, the insight is so much simpler. We just want more
women to feel beautiful and confident in themselves, wearing
an item of clothing that normally elicits fear or insecurity. We
wanted to flip the script, so to speak, so that rather than feeling
you need to lose 10 pounds to look good in swimwear, here we
are with amazing swimsuits that look good on your body. On
every body. And finally, we wish for you—regardless of what
skin you’re in, what weight or age you’re at, or even what life
stage or preference you identify with, to feel loved, accepted,
and celebrated—stretch marks and all.
What made you choose the values that form
SKINNI's core?
Beautiful. Strong. Brave. Good. Powerful. These words
are a mantra for me because these are the values that I would
like to see more of in this world. For women especially, there
is a constant onslaught on our psyches of how we should be,
how our bodies should look, and that sort of energy leads to a
lot of distress and pain. I know very well that we are a business
selling swimwear but it was essential to me that we also impute
goodness and kindness into our message. This was our truth
and thankfully, the values resonated with a lot of women.
Know more about SKINNI and its product portfolio by visiting
their website at skinniswim.com or Instagram at @skinniswim
What's next for SKINNI?
We have been so overwhelmed by the initial response to
our launch. Our next goal is to make it easier for our customers
to reach us. Stay tuned!
What message would you like to send to girls young
and old, of every body type and skin color?
Gosh, how much time do we have? Sincerely speaking
though, SKINNI is really a love letter to all women. I may
have been trained all my life as a corporate girl but I would be
Meryll Yan and
Ramon del Prado
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