Swim Fun

>> Last year, when I came down to Sydney, I discovered the more serious side to their process behind the jolly prints and graphic larks of swimwear brand We Are Handsome.  This year, I just plonked my bum on the seat, chowed down on some sort of Red Bull slushy and a signature big cat printed lollipop and enjoyed the immense fun that this brand represents in the scheme of things.  It's to the designers Jeremy Somers and Indhra Chagoury's credit that they have in the last few years carved out their own niche in photo printed swimwear, forseeing the tide of popularity in the visual language of direct photographic imagery on clothing, as their ever long list of celeb fans grows.  More of the same in their case is a good thing as their fanbase can't seem to get enough, be it a big cat growling on their chests on a swimsuit, a wild stallion galloping across a bodysuit or a yawning panda on one half of a pair of a leggings.

New print stories include a retro eighties robot mash-up, a blaze of red feathers collaged into a pattern and a David Hockney-esque painting of a beach front house.  Some of them made an entrance on specially printed bikes in collaboration with Bondi Beach Cruisers, whose bikes are apparently inspired by Bondi's laidback lifestyle.  Ah.  Bondi.  A place that rightfully has such a dear and precious place in most Sydney people's hearts.  Us outside visitors can only scratch the surface of what Bondi culture and lifestyle is all about and although We are Handsome's prints are globe-trotting, it certainly chimes in with Bondi's chilled vibes, where a ravishing beauty with Farah Fawcett-esque waves might well be riding along on her printed bike matching her printed bikini on Campbell Parade.  Other print highlights include "Awww Kawaiiiiiii!" penguins ambling along, a pair of giraffes having a convo and a stoic looking fox.  It all has to finish off with one of their signature "big cat" prints, which in this case is a roaring lion billowing out on a sheer chiffon shirt – a rare bit of modest cover-up amongst what is a loud n' proud show of flesh and fun.