Latino Lines
A quick game of word association.
Reef: Girls. In g-strings. With mahogany tans.
Reef swimwear: As above. Only now available in a surf shop near you. (The swimwear, that is. Not the girls with the deep tans.)
Renowned among hormonal surfers everywhere for their male-friendly calendar girls, Reef has finally taken up the swimwear mantle with its first swimwear range, set for its Australian release this August. That it has taken the popular sandal manufacturer so long to venture in to what seemed an obviously compatible market segment is perhaps the only real surprise behind the brand’s latest development, designed by Brazilian Fran Carvalho.
So what finally prompted the famed manufacturer to put its money where its poster girls are? No doubt the buy out by VF Corp. allowed the required injection of cash, however designer Carvalho says the brand is simply giving in to retailer demand.
“Retailers have been asking for Reef swimwear since the Reef brand started here in Australia,” she explains. “It’s a natural extension to (the) Reef girls’ footwear business, with multiple prints and embellishments merchandising directly back to girls’ sandals to build a full brand story.”
Of course it’s not the first time the South American-born brand has ventured in to swimwear. First released in 1998 in Europe and South America – apparently without long term success – it wasn’t until a targeted re-release in select markets last year that the decision was made to revive the Reef swimwear dream.
And what a dream. Making the most of her Brazilian heritage, Carvalho has created a 13-piece range bursting with embroidery, embellishment, texture-rich crochet, flower prints and bright colour: think olive with magenta and orange contrasts. Versatility is also a trend – seen this season in more than one range – with bikinis offering reversible and multiple-piece styles.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Brazilian-influenced bikini range without making the most of the sexy cut which has made the nation’s bikinis famous. While styles are also available in a more conservative European style, Reef is firm in its belief that the skimpier design is strongly infiltrating global markets. The end result, they say, is a general public more comfortable with the smaller cut. “The Reef bikinis are fashion oriented, flattering to the body, versatile, comfortable and priced reasonably,” Carvalho says. “We are really enthusiastic that the industry and public will embrace the girls’ bikini line in the same manner that they have embraced our sandals.”
As for future sales, Reef believes the early signs are positive. With the brand enjoying enormous strength in the Latin markets – coming, in part, as a result of Reef’s Argentinean and Brazilian founders – feedback and sell-through has so far been strong in both South America and Europe. And it seems the Reef team expects little less from the upcoming Australian retail release.
“Our major success has been in filling a niche and demand for a fashion oriented, Brazilian style bikini that offers more coverage than a thong, but has a more flirtatious element compared to some of the other surf brands making girls bikinis,” Carvalho says. “Reef’s roots are in surf and the beach lifestyle, so we’re happy to be able to stay true to the direction of our brand and deliver to the surf market a different fashion option at a reasonable price point.”
And those famed Reef posters? it’s safe to presume production will continue – though one has to wonder whether the bikinis will now be battling the girls for centre stage.