Lola Baia has always looked backwards to move forwards.

Long before we started designing our first collection, our camera rolls and Pinterest boards were filled with photographs of summers in the ’60s - beautiful matching swim sets, playful shorts and skirts, feminine silhouettes, bold prints, oversized sunglasses and headscarves.

There was something about 1960s swimwear that always felt more fun and special. It had personality. The pieces felt considered together, almost like little outfits in themselves, rather than simply something you wore to swim in.

We felt that sense of fun and individuality had been lost somewhere along the way, and we wanted to bring it back.

That idea has become a huge part of Lola Baia.

It wasn't only the swimwear we fell in love with, but the women wearing it.

Brigitte Bardot, Jean Shrimpton and Sophia Loren are just a few of the women we find ourselves returning to when we're designing and creating the world around Lola Baia.

We love the ultra-feminine glamour of Brigitte Bardot’s style - playful, romantic and completely unapologetic in its femininity.

Jean Shrimpton captured another side of the ’60s that we love: feminine but cool, with beautiful silhouettes, playful prints and a sense of style that still feels relevant today.

And then there's Sophia Loren. Glamorous, confident and unapologetically feminine, she has been an inspiration from the beginning. Our Loren bikini was named after her - a chocolate-brown halter bikini with our signature boy shorts, contrast baby-blue detailing and gold buckle.

But our references are never about recreating exactly what these women wore. It’s about capturing that feeling of putting on swimwear that feels a little more special - something with personality that you’re genuinely excited to wear.

We’ve always been drawn to what made those pieces feel so special - the playful silhouettes, unapologetic femininity and personality - and to finding ways to reimagine that feeling for women today.

We think about what we want from our swimwear now: ultra-flattering cheeky cuts and silhouettes that make you feel your best, while still having the character and considered details we love from those vintage references.

That’s how a ’60s matching set might inspire one of our signature swim skirts or boy-short bikinis, while the fit, proportions and cut are completely reworked for today. Sometimes the influence is in the silhouette; other times it might be a print, colour combination, trim or tiny detail that makes a piece feel that little bit more special.

We want Lola Baia swimwear to give you the same feeling we get looking at those old summer photographs - fun, feminine and exciting to wear - but made for the way women want to dress now.

Vintage summers, reimagined for the LB girls of today.

Ultimately, it isn’t one particular photograph, woman or silhouette that inspires us most - it’s the feeling of those summers.

There was a sense of fun to getting dressed for the beach. Swimwear had personality, femininity was celebrated, and matching sets felt like something you were genuinely excited to put on. Looking through those old photographs, you can almost feel the glamour and excitement of summer through what the women were wearing.

That’s the feeling we want to keep bringing into Lola Baia. We want choosing your bikini to feel just as exciting as choosing the rest of your holiday wardrobe - something you look forward to wearing, feel amazing in and remember as part of that summer.

The collections will change and Lola Baia will continue to evolve, but we think that feeling will always stay at the heart of what we create: swimwear that feels fun, feminine and special enough to get excited about, summer after summer.

Love,
Georgia & Daisy x