Summary of the Collected Data
Seafolly Internship
After speaking with my mentor, she told me how important cups were in the current Australian market of swimwear. She told me that the majority of the population really love the extra support from cups so I have decided to deffinalty use these in my swimwear design. Also, I was able to establish with Seafolly figures just how little big-busted swimwear is available in the current market, compared with smaller cup sizes.
News Article Research
After reading the article "Cups Runneth Over: Up to 40 Percent of Australian Women Wearing Size DD Bra or Larger?", I was able to understand the figures of the Australian population wearing DD+ bra sizes. The figures showed 40% of Australian women wearing DD/+ cup sizes and an increase of 8% of bras in this size has grown in just five years. This again, cemented the need for a larger range of big busted swimwear to suit the growing demand.
Survey (users): Young Australian Big Busted Women
In the results of my survey, I was able to establish concerns with the current big-busted swimwear market in Australia. The girls surveyed told me that they find it extremely difficult to find swimwear in their size at the shops, and then can barely ever find fashionable styles that will fit. They said they are often envious of their smaller busted friends who can wear the trendy prints and styles of swimwear. It was also established that big busted girls prefer strap or haltered swimwear, because strapless styles don't provide enough support. Majority of the girls agreed that they prefer to minimise their bust and also preferred a combination of underwire and padding to provide extra support for the bust. Finally, the girls all agreed that they preferred sundress's as a form of beach cover-up. This has given me the idea to make a matching beach dress to go with my swimming costume!
Inspiration
During my time at Seafolly I was able to access a website called WGSM. Here I looked through the latest trend and fashion archives from around the world. I was able to establish a trend that I wanted to persue in my swimwear design, this was "bohemian blues". I made mood boards to reflect this trend and inspire my design process.
Current Trends in Swimwear Design
When researching through the up-and-coming Seafolly lookbooks (SS15/16) I noticed a big trend in the racer-back crop top style swimwear top. I really liked this design because it looked fashionable and functional. It looked wide enough for me to be able to conceal hidden underwire and padding inside.
Researching into the lookbooks at Seafolly, I found one top in particular that I really liked the design. The top is called the "Seafolly Fastlane DD High Neck Tank Top". This top has a racer back cropped design with a "sporty" look that looks stylish and young. This top includes hidden underwire and boning that supports up to a DD cup. I purchased this top to analyse the pattern and create a similar design for a bigger size. This is my favourite top design that I will use as my inspiration.
Researching into the lookbooks at Seafolly, I found one top in particular that I really liked the design. The top is called the "Seafolly Fastlane DD High Neck Tank Top". This top has a racer back cropped design with a "sporty" look that looks stylish and young. This top includes hidden underwire and boning that supports up to a DD cup. I purchased this top to analyse the pattern and create a similar design for a bigger size. This is my favourite top design that I will use as my inspiration.
Image 17.
Market Survey (existing products)
The results of my market survey on existing products established that young women are not greatly satisfied with the big-busted swimwear tops that are available to them. Although the ladies agreed that the tops did look supportive on the bust, they stated that they thought the designs were old, dated and ugly, and couldn't portray a fashionable young silhouette. The girls also though that the designs of the current swimwear tops looked like they were bra's, portraying underwear and and not a swimwear look. This is a big concern for the Australian swimwear market, as they need to pay more attention to making trendy big-busted swimwear.
Favourite Bohemian Print Design
After playing with the colours in photoshop, I chose this blue design as my final print design. I then was able to scale the print larger to see what size looked better on a bikini.
Image 20.
When looking at different sizes of the print design through a bikini template, the larger print was unflattering on the bust and made it look larger. The smaller print design minimised the bust which was exactly the look I was going for. I then progressed with the 150% enlarged print design.