HB: So I asked Zoe if she had any questions for you, and she said “I'd be interested in hearing Luka speak on the design/fit process for her pieces. Swimwear seems so tricky because of how fitted it has to be, especially with one-pieces! I feel like it could be such a barrier of entry into designing swim?”
LR: I use myself as a fit model. And realistically if someone has a different rise to me, it will look different on them. Because it’s stretch [material], and our bodies are all just so different. I think you tried on the Petron Brief, and on you, it's super low, and on me, it's almost too high.
HB: Yeah I have a really long rise. I find that sooo interesting.
LR: It's crazy how different things fit or feel on people but I think it comes down to personal preference and just knowing that, you can do the best you can but sometimes someone's just not going to like the way something looks on them. I mean, that happens with clothes as well.
HB: I think there’s a lot of pressure on us [as the ones that sew it all] to be able to do it all. I make things specific for people, they just need to send me their measurements and then I can adjust it, but that person doesn't necessarily want to take a photo for me to share once they have the item. I think it's also really hard, because again, being our own fit models, we are limited by our own experience of the way we feel in our clothing. I remember a few years ago, I was trying to make a men's pant, and I was trying to ask my guy friends about it, and I had to be like, “okay, think about your rise, think about your crotch. Like, how does that feel?”. I'm never gonna have that experience, in my body, to know whether something's comfortable or not in every way.
LR: It’s like that with a bust. Because I don't have a very big bust. So I've tried to include styles that have a bit more support for a bigger bust. I've tried things on friends and I've gone through that process, and I now confidently have a few styles that work better on a bigger bust, but it has taken getting people in and having them trying things on or friends suggesting ideas.
HB: Yeah, feedback!
LR: This stuff is really helpful, but it definitely takes time.
HB: Is the grading different for swimwear?
LR: Nup it’s the same.
HB: I was watching your TikTok the other day, and you talked about the eight centimeters of adjustment on your briefs?
LR: It's hard for people to buy online, especially such fitted pieces. And I think that was always something that I was noticing, people wanted lots of adjustability. And being able to offer that has now become something I think about all the time when I'm designing, like, how could someone still wear this if they had a larger chest measurement?
HB: When I came to your pop up at Post Sole I remember being so blown away by you being able to adjust swimwear and making it to order. I think it's also just that machinery - it’s so hard to come across someone that's capable of using a cover stitch machine!
LR: That also becomes such a big part of the design process, doesn't it? I love still being connected to that [making process] because that then informs what I'm actually designing, it is connected to the ideas.
HB: Your Patchwork!
LR: Exactly!
HB: Want to talk about imagery?
LR: So I've been working with the same photographer for two years, Olivia Senior.
HB: And she’s based in Perth?
LR: She’s based in Perth and she’s amazing. I have always tried to portray the swim in a way that wasn’t what we normally see. I like a softness to it, and for it to be more representative of the way that all of our bodies are different, and to make people feel comfortable. It made sense to work with a female photographer to capture this.
HB: Do you think the outcome would be different using a male photographer?
LR: Completely different. The view of the body is very different from a female perspective. I think it’s a combination of the female gaze and the creative input that Olivia brings that allows my imagery a point of difference. I feel like a lot of product swimwear shots, they think people just want to see the front and the back. But people also want to have more of an insight into what it might feel like to wear that, or how it looks when a person moves. Olivia is really into the female body as an art form, and a lot of her personal photography work focuses on that. So it's really nice and allows images that touch on that soft, creative female gaze, but then also still, nice product shots. So, yeah imagery is a really big consideration. I'm also really bad at taking my own photos.
HB: You are? I can't take photos either.
LR: Yeah, it's such a skill, and I feel like it's also become such an important part of my [business] identity, so I feel like it's worthwhile being really particular about it.
HB: It's also, I think it's really good like, if you know someone that's gonna do a better job, you can just designate that time to them instead of you never being happy.
LR: Exactly.
HB: I'm never gonna get the visual that's in my head. Zoe could be next to me taking a photo and I'll take the same photo but they’ll turn out so differently.
LR: That's why they do the work! I also love the relationship I have with my photographer, she's the coolest. I love her so much. She's such a creative. She has a creative vision but she’s also just really good at being really rigorous and knowing exactly what it takes to get it done.
Recorded in Holly's studio, and on the way to Post Sole to get a beer with Breeze. 10th of December, 2024.
Find Luka Rey swimwear on instagram and at lukarey.com.au.
