Melbourne-born Clare Barrins has officially launched her swimwear brand Sheila in Australia.
Sheila sells a range of swimwear tops, bottoms and one-pieces ranging from 8-24, as well as a triangle and scoop bikini in orange, purple and black colourways. The brand launched its first drop of 17 SKUs - three bottoms, two bikini tops, one rash guard, a one-piece, and a tee - all in various colourways.
Barrins, who is chief of staff at Apple and resides in Silicon Valley, created the brand after spotting a gap in the swimwear market. The operations are based in Melbourne, including management and support, with Barrins actively managing Sheila from California.
“With Sheila, I want to empower women to feel strong and sexy in their skin,” Clare said.
“Comfort and style should be the new norm. Swimwear has a tendency to make us feel insecure, to ride up in the wrong places, not fit just quite right and make us feel more like we’d want to sit on the sidelines than be amongst the action. I want to change that.”
Sheila uses recycled nylon made from waste such as fishing nets, carpets, abandoned textiles and plastic waste across its products. The regenerated nylon is formed through a process of sorting, cleaning, regeneration and purification, which is done according to the global recycling standard.
For the main swimsuit body, this includes 75% recycled nylon, while the lining is 80%, with the rest for both being elastane.
The brand is currently sold through its own online channel.