Design a Bikini, Win Some Stuff
With such a small amount of fabric and major functional qualifications (must cover the appropriate womanly body parts and stay put, flattering fit, waterproof, cuteness factor), swimwear design is an ultimate exercise in problem solving. Two surf lifestyle brands, Billabong and Roxy, challenge you reinvent the wheel with their bikini-design contests.
Both contests require that you design within their bikini templates (string triangle tops, halter tops, bandeau tops, brief bottoms, side-tie bottoms, etc…) with a little bit of wiggle room so that the suits fall within the parameters of reality to be made into an actual garment. Time to work that graphic design and print mastery. Here’s the breakdown on both contests.
Billabong “Xtra Life LYCRA® fiber Billabong Big Wave Bikini Design Contest”
The stakes: There are two awards.
1. The “Grand Prize Design Award” is decided by a jury of industry professionals from Lycra and Billabong. Winner will get his or her bikini put into Billabong’s Spring collection as pro big wave surfer and super cool chick Maya Gabeira’s 2011 signature suit; and get to take a 3-day surf vacation to Hawaii with Maya.
2. “People’s Choice Award” (or, ahem, who has the most Facebook friends and can launch the best voting campaign), which is decided by vote scores. The take home is a Billabong shopping spree valued at $350.
What Would Maya Wear? A sample of some of the entries for the Billabong Big Wave bikini contest.
Roxy “Schick Quattro for Women presents Design-A-Roxy Bikini”
The Stakes: There are four awards. The Grand Prize and Runner-Up will be decided by a fancy panel of judges: Kassia Meador (Roxy-sponsored pro surfer), Summer Rapp (head designer of Roxy), Marissa Grumer (Senior Fashion Editor for Seventeen Magazine), Samantha Durbin (Editor for FabSugar.com) and Jennifer Rade (Celebrity Fashion Stylist).
1. The Grand Prize is $5,000 cash, a Quattro for Women ® Summer Prize Pack and the winning design will be made into an actual bikini.
2. The Runner Up will receive $2,000 cash and a Quattro for Women ® Summer Prize Pack.
3. The design with the most eligible votes will win a $1,000 Roxy wardrobe and a Quattro for Women ® Summer Prize Pack.
4. A prize just for voting, not even submitting a design. One lucky voter will receive a $1,000 Roxy wardrobe.
Think you can do better? A sample of some of the competish for the Design-A-Roxy-Bikini contest.
