Photo by Richard Hume
SUMMER OF SWIM
Trina Turk Docks Its Swim Line at Lunada Bay
Swimwear company Lunada Bay is raising the stakes for its licensed swimwear business, recently announcing that it would manufacture swimwear for the colorful, contemporary fashion line Trina Turk. Turk’s swim line was formerly produced by Manhattan Beachwear Inc.
Lunada Bay’s first delivery of Trina Turk Swimwear is scheduled to be shipped in June, said Bill Schlabach, Lunada Bay’s chief executive officer. He said that a partnership between the brand and his swim company is natural because they both draw inspiration from California. “Trina Turk’s contemporary, colorful aesthetic fuses the best of classic American design with California’s multicultural mix, creativity, architecture and landscape,” Schlabach said. He specifically plans to develop the horizons of Trina Turk Swimwear.
“We feel that we can increase her business significantly,” Schlabach said. “We’re doing a classic Trina Turk contemporary, colorful aesthetic. It’s a great business, but it’s niche. If you’re not into that specific look, then you’re not buying Trina Turk Swimwear. We’re using some of our expertise to expand beyond that niche and to bring some more products that a wider group of consumers might be interested in.”
Lunada Bay’s upcoming Trina Turk line continues offering Turk’s distinctive designs, but it is also expanding on solids with embellishments, hardware and other novelty fabrics. As the consumer economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Schlabach said that Lunada Bay’s upcoming Trina Turk deliveries will stay focused on what has been successful. But as demand for the line gathers strength, it may offer features such as a greater size range. The line will continue to be offered at department stores such as Nordstrom and specialty stores such as Everything But Water.
Turk said that she supported Lunada Bay’s vision for her line. “We’re looking forward to creating better-than-ever swimwear and cover-ups in our new partnership with Lunada Bay,” Turk said. “Their expertise in design and manufacturing, combined with our signature prints and vivid color, will elevate Trina Turk Swimwear across all channels.”Retail price points for the line will run from $58 to $172.
Lunada Bay is using different strategies to increase business for its other brands. It recently worked with Walmart to introduce BCA by Rebecca Virtue, a diffusion line currently available at walmart.com and that will soon be sold in select Walmart stores.
Lunada Bay also is poised for growth because it made it through the pandemic, Schlabach said. “We look at business and approach it from a team and family standpoint first and from a topline volume standpoint second. Every single thing we create is like a child of ours. We love and we nourish it, then we put it out in the world. We love what we do, and we love our product,” said Schlabach, who joined the company as its CEO in 2016. He was hired by Susan Crank, the longtime Lunada Bay chief who had run the company since 1987. The company’s other brands are Becca by Rebecca Virtue, Becca Etc. by Rebecca Virtue, Isabella Rose and Soluna Swim.
