“There’s that moment when you go to the beach and you’re taking off your clothes to get in the water or lay in the sun, and that is such a vulnerable moment for women,” Travis points out. She says she set out to start a brand that makes beautiful, high-quality swims that are easy to wear and easy to shop for—and that has imagery that is by and for women who are the customers.
For Travis, who worked at FourSquare, Kickstarter, and BarkBox before starting Andie, this was a tall order for her New York–based startup. “It’s been five years and we’ve had really positive results and engagement, so I think we’re doing something right,” she says. “Or, at least, we’re on the right track.”
On the right track, indeed. As the brand celebrates its five-year anniversary, it celebrates another milestone: one million swimsuits sold. It also experienced 100 percent year-over-year growth from 2020 to 2021, and last year raised $18.5 million in Series B funding. The company has partnered with celebrities like Demi Moore and Claire Holt, and operates a series of pop-up stores in California and New York, including a summer shop in Sag Harbor on Long Island.
Melanie Travis founded her swimsuit company, Andie Swim, in 2017 to challenge the out-of-touch and oversexualized marketing that powered the industry—as well as its wasteful manufacturing processes that largely relied on fleeting trends and synthetics. “You could see little sprinkles of startups that were nodding to inclusivity and sustainability,” she says, but Andie Swim was ultimately one of the first companies to incorporate a fully sustainable supply chain and produce swimsuits using exclusively recycled material.
The brand was also among the first to prioritize body inclusivity. Check out the brand and get your swim on – www.AndieSwim.com
