Marysia Reeves is coming up on her 10th year in business, which may surprise a lot of the women who collect her swimsuits. She started the line way back in 2009, but it was in 2011 when she really broke through with her now-signature Antibes bikini: a scalloped-edge bandeau with a matching, not-too-skimpy hipster bottom. Chances are you’ve seen it—and its copycats—out in Amagansett or Malibu. “I really thought people would be over [the scallops] after a while, but they’re here to stay,” she said at her Resort presentation, held on the serene Greenwich Hotel terrace. Those curved edges are cute and unique, but the real reason they became the foundation of her brand—there are now dozens of scalloped pieces in her core “classics” group—is because they’re seriously flattering. Seven years ago, Reeves wanted to make a bikini that wouldn’t dig into the skin or create hard lines, so she tested the scalloped detail with her couture factory—and it worked. Many brands have copied the look, but only Reeves’s are hand-cut for a seamless edge and use a special kind of elastic that holds up but doesn’t squeeze. Her swim fabric, a nylon-Lycra mix with a matte, subtly-textured finish, is also more forgiving than your average blend.
All that said, Reeves doesn’t want to be known just for her scalloped bikinis. Or even bikinis in general. She recently dropped “Swim” from her label’s name, and has been gradually moving her company in a direction that better reflects her vision for a high-end lifestyle brand. Resort 2019 includes more ready-to-wear than ever: broderie anglaise caftans, ruffle-trimmed robes, and baby doll maxi dresses, all of which could certainly be worn as swim cover-ups, but felt refined enough for the city too. They’ll fulfill a lot of women’s fantasies of dressing like they’re on vacation even when they’re not seaside. Reeves drew her color palette from a recent trip to Antelope Canyon in Arizona, a remote, otherworldly destination that’s become popular with the creative set. Its landscape mainly influenced the earthy palette of taupe, mauve, blush, cream, and olive, plus a few swirling prints inspired by the canyon’s rock formations. That warm, meditative feeling is floating around elsewhere in fashion right now, sometimes leaning more Mediterranean than Southwestern; maybe it speaks to our desire to slow down and disconnect, or we’ve just seen hundreds of (heavily filtered) Instagram snaps of friends and influencers on exotic vacations and want to capture that feeling any way we can.
Swimwear is still the heart of Reeves’s operation, and she introduced a new bikini featuring short, asymmetrical fringe with a hint of Arizona flavor. It could entice her loyal Antibes fans to try something a little different. Elsewhere, she expanded on her French knot–trimmed styles and showed long-sleeve rash guards in marbled pastels; in her signature matte fabric, they could definitely pass as “regular” shirts. Reeves often wears her maillots as bodysuits under skirts and jeans, and her best-selling bandeaux—scalloped or not—work as clever layering pieces. All to say, Marysia fans with zero vacations on the horizon will find reasons to buy her new “resortwear” this winter.
