IPANEMA 1948 | HELO PINHEIRO

In 1948, a mere 2 years after the Bikini was invented and before Bridgette Bardot became the face of the modern Bikini, three Argentine girls caused a stir on the beaches of Rio Sul as they soaked up the sun in scantly clad bikinis. From that moment on Rio de Janeiro became obsessively inspired with the bikini. Helô Pinheiro, the Garota from Ipanema, inspired the ever-famous song The Girl from Ipanema by by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The legendary of the song defined a moment where Brazil became synonymous as the swimwear capital of the world, especially with the introduction of the thong bikini in the early 70's.

Rio post 1948: "The French may have invented the bikini (believe it or not, in July of 1946), but the Brazilians keep recreating it each summer, coming up with more fabulous designs and hot new styles. On a trip to Rio - and what immediately follows, a walk on the beach - anyone can't help but be utterly fascinated by the teeny-weeny, colorful, and beautifully designed beachwear on the golden bodies of the women from Ipanema.

There is such a variety of shapes, cuts, gorgeous prints and details, that you ask yourself: how do they do it? How can they keep coming up with something different all the time, when all they have to work with is a few inches of fabric? It helps, of course, to have a source of inspiration in some of the most magnificent scenery on the planet, year-round warm weather and a large consumer base, considering that no woman seems to be too old or too chunky to wear a bikini in Rio. Middle-aged mothers, pregnant young women with swollen bellies, even wrinkled little old ladies, walk and bathe in their small suits right next to some lithesome goddesses, and no one seems to notice; in fact, no one cares. The important thing is to get a tan, exercise, and socialize with your friends and neighbors."

-Society & Mores.

SEXIBITION 1952 | BRIGITTE BARDOT

From the moment the modern bikini was born, in 1946, it encouraged women to celebrate their bodies and own sexualities in the most public of places, the beach. This two-piece sensation shocked the world, creating a counter culture against the deep-seated phobia of anything close to nudity.

No other woman embraced this newfound freedom greater than Brigitte Bardot, who is a core inspiration of Ricci Swim. The French born starlet single handedly popularized the bikini, beginning with her 1952 movie The Girl in the Bikini (Manina, La Fille Sans Voile), which I watch over and over. She is a sexual vixen who popularized the sands of of St. Tropez and Buzios, Brazil by simply wearing her itsy bitsy bikini.

To me, she is just about the sexiest woman that ever graced this planet, an icon of liberated sexuality. She not only embraced the bikini, but she also turned the principle behind its creation into the rule of her life to become a free-spirited energy of sexual allure.

Minimalistic in aesthetics, each bikini is an opulent piece of luxurious art with a newfound fresh attitude, utterly sexy, young, fun and sophisticated. The visual identity is uncluttered, designed for comfort with clean lines and distinct perfection in graphic representation. Brasil influences the cut of each bikini, injecting the sexhibition energy on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Bardot’s iconoclast status, along with sex icon and legend Jane Birkin, personifies the Ricci Swim woman, a free-spirited globetrotting sexual vixen who breaks away from social doctrines that confined a woman's sexual self expression in public.

The collection is designed and curated to exude the uninhibited energy and sexual allure of Bardot and Birkin. Its designed to captivate the heart of an un- bashful young bohemian starlet who enjoys traveling, sunny days on the beach and dancing the night away. The Ricci Swim woman breaks routines and defies contrived rules in favor of seeking and exploring worldly pleasures beyond the pre-established circle of trends. Her lifestyle lives beyond transient fashion and her mere being facilitates the inspiration for women who seek adventure beyond predictable protocol.

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