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.
Stay Stoked!!! Great to read this kind of article!! I hope that from 2014 you're still up and running!!!
ReplyDeleteWe're all up to models and surfing that's the idea of our brand :)
Visit us if you have time: https://modelsandsurf.com.au
Surfboard Fins hope you have still not stop following the dream and you're still stoked!!!!
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