Marysia (Q3329)
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Marysia is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Marysia |
Marysia is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
On a particularly warm day during New York Fashion Week, a designer said the most important color in fashion right now is…brown. It’s true that earth tones have been trending on and off the runway for a few seasons, and even swimwear designers are taking note, hence Marysia Reeves’s announcement. Her Spring 2020 collection ignored the rules of “what sells” in swim—typically bright colors and prints—in favor of rich camel, chocolate, and cream. The season’s “statement color” was the palest, iciest blue, hardly a statement at all. There were items not pictured here in more classic shades of red and deep green, but Reeves had enough newness to keep the look book hyper-focused.One bit of news was the range of ruched one-pieces and “swim dresses,” which were a simpler, more covered-up foil to Reeves’s signature scalloped bikinis. Bigger news was the continued evolution of her ready-to-wear. Spring felt like a big leap from breezy dresses and cover-ups to full-on, realistic daywear—and even a bit of eveningwear. The prettiest dress was also the fanciest: a drop-waist pleated satin midi-dress in that barely-there shade of blue. The idea is that the Marysia customer who needs a new swimsuit for her vacation likely needs a low-key party dress too. She’ll be intrigued by the soft, ’40s-ish cotton dress in a graphic print inspired by sea urchins too, and certain girls will find ways to simply wear the swimsuits as “real clothes.” In subtle neutrals, it’s easy to justify styling a Marysia bandeau or rashguard as a top, perhaps with one of her new billowing, drop-waist maxiskirts or macramé sarongs.It’s tempting to make the argument that fashion’s embrace of earth tones jibes with our growing concern for the planet and a desire to reconnect with nature. It’s only now that the industry is getting serious about sustainability, but the idea makes sense. For designers whose businesses revolve around women going on vacation, as Reeves’s does, it might be even more important to start tackling the sustainability issue. The carbon footprint of a flight to Kauai or Bali is significant, but if you're going, you can at least pack some consciously made clothes and swimsuits in your carry-on. In 2020, Reeves is making that a bigger priority than ever and hopes her customer is interested in making some changes too.
23 September 2019
It felt like everyone was in Greece this summer, and not just Mykonos and Santorini. Savvy vacationers were exploring lesser-traveled islands like Milos and Crete, and it was in these smaller towns that Marysia Reeves found her Resort 2020 inspiration. The rich, saturated cobalt that appeared on a few of her pebbled nylon swimsuits was lifted from the Aegean Sea, while the bright red was named “bougainvillea” after the country’s climbing vines. A subtler nod to the Mediterranean was the ultra-pale yellow, reminiscent of citrus sorbet.To Marysia’s superfans, picking up a scalloped-edge bikini or maillot in one of those fresh new colors might be enough to satisfy their pre-vacation cravings in November. But there were more noteworthy surprises here, particularly in the ready-to-wear offering. In the past, Reeves’s dresses were quite casual and beachy, often toeing the line between a “real dress” and a swim coverup. Her Resort options felt significantly elevated: A few cotton dresses came with full, A-line skirts and high necklines, while others had cute nautical collars and lace-up detailing. She also introduced her first bona fide “cocktail dress”: a luminous coral silk column with a ruffly collar and bands of smocking throughout. For women heading to Greece (or anywhere with similar vibes) this holiday season, it would be a no-brainer for beach soirées. It’s luxe, yet low-key, and would look even better barefoot in the sand.
13 August 2019
It used to be that swimwear felt entirely separate from the “real” fashion conversation, but the line between the two categories is getting blurrier. When the pebbled piqué fabric of a Marysia maillot is noticeably more luxe than the cotton of your bodysuit, why not just wear the maillot under your jeans? It isn’t uncommon to see girls doing just that on the streets of New York. Others have adopted the practice of wearing bright bikini tops in lieu of bras. On unbearably hot, humid July days, it’s a pretty genius hack; if you’re going to sweat, you may as well wear stuff that’s meant to get wet.New Yorkers have the benefit of being able to shop Marysia IRL now that her first store is open on Crosby Street. Her Pre-Fall collection just hit the racks, and those familiar with the label will be surprised by all of the leopard spots. It’s her splashiest print yet, created in collaboration with illustrator Caitlin McGauley. The spots appeared as a “wrap” effect around a classic maillot, and they were printed all over a corset-cinched midi dress. There was even a leopard jumpsuit with knee-length shorts, ideal for the active beachgoer (though girls will wear it in “real life” with a denim jacket and sneakers). Also highly practical: the scalloped-edge minidress in Marysia’s signature pebbled fabric. In the city, it would look like a cute summer dress, but it would also streamline your packing list for a spontaneous trip to the Rockaways: no cover-up or change of clothes required.
17 July 2019
Marysia Reeves spent a month on Shelter Island this summer, and by the time she’d returned to the city, she was already nostalgic for Long Island’s picturesque, all-American feeling. Her Spring 2019 collection is an homage to those warmer, lazier days, with a classic red, white, and blue palette and new checkerboard motifs lifted from her family’s picnic blankets.Marysia superfans will be pleasantly surprised by those eye-popping, vaguely retro prints, especially on the patchwork pieces. One rash guard was collaged with cobalt, pink, red, and baby blue gingham, and a high-rise bikini mixed laser-cut eyelet with micro- and macro-checks. Other suits were updated with novel flower baubles or plastic chain straps, and a few blush maillots and caftans felt like an earthier extension of her Resort offering.The big news was in Reeves’s growing ready-to-wear selection, including her first-ever denim. The work jackets, cropped trousers, and ruffled dresses came in a surprisingly lightweight indigo, and in a few instances, Reeves mixed them with the swimwear. The opening look—a lace-up denim prairie skirt styled with a twist-front bikini top—mirrored other designers’ ideas about wearing swimwear “in real life,” not just at the beach. That tank-style bikini did the work of a T-shirt or cropped blouse, but felt a lot fresher.Similarly, Reeves pointed out a clean, empire-waist ivory column dress, explaining that it could be worn as a cover-up with a scalloped bikini peeking out—or you could simply wear it alone at cocktail hour. Brides getting married in tropical destinations might even consider it for their rehearsal dinner, morning-after brunch, or any number of wedding-adjacent events that call for something white, low-key, and elegant.
30 October 2018
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.
16 July 2018
The full impact of COVID-19 on fashion retail remains to be seen, but the past five months have underscored the need for change. Designers are pushing for new delivery dates so clothes are available when they actually make sense: sweaters in the winter, swimsuits in the summer. The pandemic also highlighted the need for flexibility. In March and April, stores canceled orders left and right, leaving many designers with piles of inventory and nowhere to sell it. Some were forced to do sample sales or heavy discounts, and in an effort to avoid the same problem in the fall, they reduced their fall 2020 collections or pushed them to the following season, i.e. resort. The silver lining is that those fall coats and boots will feel a lot more seasonally-appropriatein December.Who knows what will happen between now and then, though? Retailers have forecast that we’ll be ready to shop again, but it’s impossible to be certain about anything. The general sense of unpredictability should have designers thinking about timeless, seasonless pieces that can be sold now, later, or anytime throughout the year. Swimwear may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but Marysia Reeves has been forced to test that concept for resort. She initially planned to release this collection back in April, for pre-fall 2020; in the past, it was one of her most important seasons, arriving just before our summer vacations. Canceled orders and production delays put the collection on pause, and she decided to finally launch it in September, right in between the fall and resort seasons. It could be good news for women planning fall vacations to make up for the ones they canceled in the spring and summer. Longtime fans will find newness in the cut-out maillots and a few ruched, extra-skimpy styles. Reeves also hopes some of the ready-to-wear pieces will resonate in the fall, namely the watercolor-print silk dresses, which can be layered or styled with boots.Looking to 2021, Reeves plans to focus on sustainability and size inclusivity rather than seasonal collections and novelty styles. In March, she introduced a capsule of core swimsuits in a new, 100% recycled polyamide fabric; unlike recycled fibers made from post-consumer waste—i.e. plastic bottles, fishing nets—hers is composed of the yarn off-cuts from the original manufacturing process. She plans to shift her entire collection to that lower-impact fabric, and will introduce extended sizes in the new year as well.
In our times of crisis, shrinking her label’s carbon footprint and broadening her community is likely to resonate more than a new colorway or print ever could.
24 August 2020