Founded in 2009 by Indhra Chagoury and Jeremy Jules Somers, Australia-based swimwear label We Are Handsome has quickly amassed an international cult following with its hypersaturated, photo-screened maillots. Since Handsome’s first formal collection—appropriately dubbed The Pictures—Chagoury and Somers have printed snarling jungle cats, idling koi in black marble fountains, and wild horses galloping with sun-drenched equine folly across their sportive wares. But at this year’s Miami Swim Week (which starts tomorrow), the designers will unveil a more cosmic and spiritual image bank with their latest lineup, The Divine, which will be available this November.
“It’s about making sure we don’t miss out on what the universe is showing us while we are engrossed in our everyday lives,” Chagoury told Style.com from Sydney. That concept translates particularly well in their migration motif. Debuting exclusively here, the print depicts citrus-pink spoonbills fleeing from a post-storm sky.
On being stationed in Sydney—an emerging city of interest for fashion folk—Chagoury offered, “We love being based in Australia, but the main problem is the disappearance of manufacturing houses. As big companies get bigger, they look offshore for cheaper products. This is really hurting our local industry.”
Yet Handsome appears to have navigated these hometown challenges, considering its suits are sold everywhere from Ron Herman Tokyo to Barneys New York. “We want to ensure we do all we can as a swimwear brand,” said Chagoury. And though she and Somers won’t be able to make it to Miami this year—where the brand will show at the Standard Miami’s Standard Swim—it is “definitely” in their plans for 2014, “in a big way.”
— Nick Remsen
Photo: Courtesy of We Are Handsome
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