Bella Macleod
Features Editor
Senior Carmen Weiss designs, cuts and sews her way to establishing her very own swimwear brand, Carms.
Weiss has been thinking about starting her own swimsuit brand since she was in ninth grade, but did not really focus on it until the beginning of last year. After sketching designs, taking sewing lessons and manufacturing her products, Weiss was able to finally launch her brand.
“Last year was when I really [started] getting into building [Carms] when I started a business plan and told my parents I really wanted to do this,” Weiss said.
Weiss’s decision to establish Carms came about from her love of photography since she spends a lot of time having beach photo shoots with friends. Before she created her own brand, she would reach out to small or up-and-coming swimwear brands to take photos of their products to use for their websites or Instagram pages.
“I’m very into photography and taking photos on the beach with my friends and always do [it] for fun,” Weiss said. “I decided to start my own bathing suit brand because I wanted to start taking pictures of my own stuff, not other brands.”
To promote Carms, Weiss has created an instagram account called @carmskinis where she shares the content from her beach photo shoots. Weiss plans to build a website in the future, but for now she plans to sell her swimwear on online marketplaces like Depop, Weiss said.
“Getting models and friends together to have a photo shoot is one of my favorite parts of this process,” Weiss said. “I think social media is huge right now, and I just want to get the word out by having my friends wear [my bikini] and spreading the word locally.”
Weiss has successfully produced one two-piece swimsuit design which comes in four different colors, as well as a prototype for another design. The influence for the designs come from her interest in vintage fashion from the 80s and 90s.
“I am inspired by vintage designs like the 1994 spring Chanel collection because of how girly, fun and timeless all the pieces are and the whole high waisted look, and pastel colors,” Weiss said. “When creating my bikini designs, I had a certain vision of how I wanted everything branded and used props to set up photo shoots to portray that carefree, simplistic, yet glamorous look.”
Currently, Weiss has been using a manufacturer based in Brazil and has been communicating with them via email. She sends in her designs with instructions and they send back questions and fabrics that they think should be used, Weiss said.
“I’m deciding if I want to stay with what I am using or use a manufacturer based in [Los Angeles].”
To learn more about the fashion industry, Weiss has been taking sewing classes through the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC) where she learns the fundamentals of pattern making, sewing garments together and sketching designs.
“SCROC has helped me learn all the basics to what it takes to create the clothing,” Weiss said. “It has taught me about the fashion industry as well as how to sew, and how to turn a sketch into a tangible.”
“I am going to start selling locally but in the future, I want to widen [Carms],” Weiss said. “[I want] to start selling online and in stores, [and] I also want to incorporate clothing one day.”
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