U&I - a new local Torquay label by some mega babes

Emma & Jodie - mega babes
I’ve met some awesome people surfing – some of conversations you have in the line-up or in the carpark can sometimes blossom into a lovely friendship. Emma is one of those friends who then introduced me to her bestie, Jodie. They’re ace chicks who live in a ramshackle 1930s beach shack in Torquay where they throw parties, have a surfboard shaping shed out the back and run their own surf label, U&I.

Jodie & Emma 
They came to visit me at Camp Rad on a chilly Sunday afternoon to chat over pizza and a bottle of red and give me the U&I lowdown…

How did U&I first came about?

Emma: I just wanted to create a brand that represents girls the way we are – we’re active. We’re surfers. We’re not chicks hanging out sunbathing ... Alana Blanchard’s butt on a billboard, it’s ridiculous, we don’t want to be her.

Jodie: Although I’m sure she’s a really lovely girl…

This is Elise - U&I model and also my personal trainer. She's rad.
Your first collection is fairly tight. So talk me through the styles.

E: It’s mainly just because of the budget. We’re just two girls paying from our own pockets.

How many did you end up with?

J: Six. So we have three one pieces, 2 bikinis and a rash top.  I love simple black and white so we’ve just kept it monochromatic.

E: The U&I girl is a bit older, more mature, more classy. She doesn’t want to be wearing a triangle bikini that might fall off.

What’s your favourite piece in the collection?

E: When Jodie asked if I could shoot her uni collection and I saw Bells – a one-piece with a twist in the bodice – and I thought you could wear that surfing and you could also wear with jeans. It’s why I asked if she wanted to do something together.

J: My favourites are the Bird Rock rashie and the long sleeved one piece. For surfing girls, it’s a really flattering, simple surfing swimsuit with long arms and with a nice leg cut.

This sassy number is the Johanna
So you’re going to take it around and show people, right?

J: We’re going to head up in the coast in a van up to Bondi, Manly and Byron.

E: We plan to go to a store and show our stuff right out the back of our van. And we’ll surf.

Where’s your favourite surf spot?

E: I recently started surfing Bird Rock. It’s awesome. But super local so you have to be ‘Can I please have a wave?’

J: The only places I have ever surfed are The Pass and Juc. I like goofing and gossiping and hanging out with the other kooks.

The unreal shaping shed in their backyard
What’s next for U&I?

E: I’ve always wanted to do something for the female surf community. So it would be fun to get girls together for movie nights or surf sessions – stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with alcohol.

J: The bigger picture would be share the skills I’ve learned and do something meaningful. It would be great to do something in Bali…

E: Or let’s do surf shacks in different parts of the world for chicks to come and surf and be creative. That’s our ultimate goal.


Comments

  1. Stay Stoked!!! Great to read this kind of article!! I hope that from 2014 you're still up and running!!!

    We're all up to models and surfing that's the idea of our brand :)

    Visit us if you have time: https://modelsandsurf.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  2. Surfboard Fins hope you have still not stop following the dream and you're still stoked!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts