The Brand

Hi there! It’s Antonela NUARSWIM's founder. I am so happy you’ve found us and that you’re interested in learning a bit more about the brand. I want to tell you my story and how NUARSWIM came to life x

So, let’s start from the very beginning. My roots are from Argentina and Finland. Quite a mix, I know! I have lived the majority of my life on tiny islands in Spain. Since little, I’ve learned to love the beauty of nature. The ocean, and water, in general, have been very important and, is still to this day, an important element to me. The calmness and peace I feel when watching and hearing it is unreal, it gives me a feeling of home. Playing as a child on the beach under the sunshine are memories that I have, and will cherish forever. 

All these things from my childhood, the way I grew up, have naturally had an effect when creating NUARSWIM, maybe, without me even knowing. 

Since a very young age I’ve wanted to do something that is my own, it took me a very long time to figure out my way and what I was supposed to do. But well, never would I have thought that I would be creating a swimwear brand in one of the coldest countries in the world, but well… You can do anything if you set your mind to it, right? 

I started playing around with the idea one summer when I realized I didn’t have any nice swimwear to wear. All I had were pieces that after one summer had lost their shape and the quality was not there. I started looking for brands, mainly in Finland (as I am currently living here), that would offer the type of swimwear I was looking for, ethically and sustainably made, minimalistic, of high quality, and with a price on point. I didn’t find anything that matched my criteria, so this journey began. 

The day I started researching how to start this project, I remember all these thoughts coming to my head, how can I possibly do this as I don’t have any design background nor do I know anything about production, etc, etc. I wanted to create a brand that is transparent and had the best possible approach to sustainability as the world didn’t need any more one-time-use-garments.

I recall my childhood and present self, and how important the ocean and waters are for me, and how it is getting damaged because of our behaviour. I promised myself, that if I start a brand that is part of this industry, I want to do it as well as possible. I began sourcing for fabrics and found there is this awesome material, of very high quality called Econyl, which is made out of plastic waste, plastic bottles, and fishing nets collected from the ocean. I remember thinking to myself, well this sounds great, I want to feel this material myself and hopefully, it matches my (very high) expectations, and guess what, it did! All our swimwear is made out of this luxurious material which not only is sustainable and closes the gap, as it can be forever recycled, but it’s also of very high quality.

NUARSWIM was a year in the making. A year in which so many things happened, positive and negative. So many moments of doubt, but also many occasions where faith was very much present. I started testing out and sampling with different factories in Bali, Indonesia. I chose Bali precisely because of its expertise in the field. After a few months of sampling, I decided the next right move was to go directly to Bali and see everything with my own eyes. And so I did. And it was the best decision I could have possibly made. I got to see with my very own eyes everything that happened in the factory, how everything was made, and most importantly, I got to talk with the people who were sewing my samples (and currently the swimwear you’re purchasing). This was very important for me, seeing the environment where workers are and their wellbeing in the factory. Because at the end of the day, there is an actual human cost, there is real people’s touch making the garments we consume. There is a cost for apparel and it shouldn’t be something we use once and throw away. If you ever wonder why sustainable and ethically made clothes cost more, here is one of many reasons. After this Bali manufacturing trip, all of a sudden, everything seemed so clear to me. I realised what I was doing had greater meaning and purpose, than just being a swimwear brand. I want to have a positive impact on people and on the world we live in. So, I ordered the first batch, and from then on the rest is history. 

 

DESIGN

Stepping into the design process, let me tell you, that was a whole other world. As I said before, I don’t have any design background and to be honest I was quite lost at the beginning. When I started thinking and designing the first collection ever, I wanted to create pieces that would resist the test of time, and that would not go out of style anytime soon. That was my main focus, and it is to this day that NUARSWIM does not follow trends, seasons nor any other labels the fashion world has. When designing the pieces, the factory I work with and their very experienced personnel helped me along the whole process. I pay very very close attention to details and if the swimwear is not perfect we will have to sample it again. I have a very specific taste, for me, the most important part of the swimwear I am designing is the quality and fit. I want you to feel like I feel when wearing a swimsuit or bikini - confident, comfortable and powerful. 

As a brand, we are learning and improving our designs and sizings in every collection and every drop we come out with, as we want to offer the best possible option for you. 

 

FINAL WORDS

Being part of this ever-evolving world, I wanted to create a brand where everyone can feel comfortable and welcomed. Because let’s face it, swimwear is not the easiest thing to purchase. I want to stay true to the vision I’ve had since the very beginning which is to offer swimwear to women of different ages, ethnicities, sizes, races and make them feel comfortable and beautiful in their own skin. Because if you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin, where will you? I don’t believe in airbrushing imperfections away and you’ll never see a picture on our website or social media in where we’ve edited bodies, pimples, or our swimwear. 

NUARSWIM is not perfect and we have a long way to go. To learn and to improve. Nevertheless, I am proud of how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time and I can promise you we will only get better. I hope you love NUARSWIM as much as I loved bringing it to life and creating all these beautiful pieces for you. 

 

Con amor xx

Antonela 

 

 

NUAR DEFINITION

Nuar means "to tie two things together". This is the aim of NuarSwim, to bring a feeling of togetherness and acceptance within women.

And well… The Urban Dictionary defines the word Nuar as: "Amazing and incredible individuals who beast at everything; funny, totally crazy/fun, beautiful, badass, adventurous, sweet - they take no crap from anyone and tell you like it is". WORD!