The Inspiration Behind Retro Swim

I’ve always love swimming since I was a little kid, I looked forward to going to swimming classes at school, and even took a lifesaving class (although I don’t know how effective I would be now!). As an adult I’ve developed a love for swimming outdoors, at lidos, in lakes, and the sea. I’m not brave enough to swim in unheated waters in colder weather, but I love taking the opportunity to swim whenever I get the chance in the spring and summer

My new collection Retro Swim is inspired by my love of swimming. I’ve created a collection of accessories for outdoor swimmers, including tote bags (for all your kit), notebooks (for your swim log), mugs (for your post swim cuppa), as well as matching swimsuits and bikinis, and prints of my original watercolour illustration.

We visited Croatia for our honeymoon 6 years ago, and you could just jump in the sea wherever you were along the coast, as the waters were so calm. Perfect after a hike on a hot summers day! There were also some gorgeous waterfalls and lakes to swim in further inland.

Waterfalls at Krka National Park in Croatia

So when I decided to create a new summer collection, I knew I wanted it to be inspired by swimming, particularly swimming outdoors. I also started researching retro swimwear and swimhats, which are a great way to stay visible when you’re swimming in open waters.

I started researching open water swimmers too, and created a digital portrait of Arati Saha - the first Asian women to swim the English channel in 1959. She not only had amazing style (those goggles!) but she was so inspiring. She was only 18 when she swam the channel, but she also had represented India in the Olympic Women’s swimming team in 1952 at the age of 12!

Arati Saha

The First Asian Woman to Swim the English Channel

42 miles in 16 hours 20 minutes

Another passion of mine is also vintage clothing, and I went down a bit of a rabbit hole on Pinterest researching vintage swimwear from the 1950s and 1960s. I loved the bright candy colours, and the floral prints and themes. Vintage swimcaps and sunglasses appealed to me in particular.

Vintage Swimcaps from the 1960s

Costume in film has also long been a source of inspiration for me, and I recently saw ‘Evil Under the Sun’ and fell in love with the crazy 80s interpretation of the 1920s costumes by costume designer Anthony Powell. So many brilliant swimming outfits, elaborate robes, turbans and hats. Diana Rigg in particular had some of the best outfits. I love this rainbow polka dot get up with some epic bangles.

Diana Rigg in Evil Under the Sun

With all these influences in mind, I started creating some watercolour paintings of abstract portraits of women wearing multicoloured swimcaps. It was really fun to experiment with lots of different shapes and colours.

Retro Swim Print - Available in A4 or A5

This collection has taken a long time to develop, but I’m so happy with the final selection of products. I can’t wait to try out all the products myself on my next swim!