Pintuck Resort is the passion project of fashion editor Jo Springthorpe and swimwear designer Beryl Goslett. I've known Jo Springthorpe for many years, in fact, she was the fashion stylist in my modelling days where her impeccable taste was stamped across many local and international titles. Beryl Goslett's background spans years back in the swimwear industry and together they bring us a fresh approach to swimwear. The patterns, colours and fits are what makes this range so irresistible. I caught up with Jo to find out more about Pintuck Resort.
'Pintuck Resort's simple concept is to create gorgeous original prints, then pair them with a select range of swimsuit designs that experience has taught us are the most flattering to all women's bodies. Then we allow the women themselves to play. With our help, our customers can pair the pattern she loves with the suit that suits her!'
What made you decide to get into swimwear?
My work partner Beryl and I were sitting on the beach one December holiday sharing the fact that I could not find a costume for the holidays I liked. Available swimwear at the time was either tiny surf brand bikinis or dowdy 'granny suits', nothing that appealed to me. So on my suggestion we made a few swimsuits for ourselves and that is how we started! Our first season was small, growing a little each year and this season we have an extended choice of shapes and prints to choose from.
What inspired the name Pintuck Resort?
Pintuck Resort is an extension of a clothing brand I [Jo] already had where I used 'pintucks' on shirts and dresses and as people were already familiar with the brand name Pintuck, we added 'Resort' to incorporate our swimwear line.
What makes your swimsuits so attractive?
Most of customers remark on three things: quality, fit and prints. Beryl and I share the same aesthetic so our styles have a retro seventies twist which fit well, are comfortable and flattering. Colour is key so you'll find some non-commercial colours like greens, oranges and browns in the prints and colours, which we update each season. We use woman of all shapes and sizes in our images to show how the swimwear fits; our hashtag is #foreverybody.
Will you be branching into men or kids swimwear?
We have just introduced a small range of swimwear called Petite by Pintuck Resort, suitable for 2-8 year old girls. We've also included a small capsule range we'll be selling at pop ups stalls to see how it is received and take it from there.
Tell us about your new range for summer 2018.
Our handwriting of prints are inspired by the bold and beautiful colours of African summers, so for summer 2018 we've introduced even bigger, bolder and more fluid designs as well as bright and colourful retro and graphic prints. The addition of bold plain colours like orange, green, gold and red leave one feeling pretty cheerful when looking at them!
When's your next pop up?
We have just had a pop up in Johannesburg this past weekend and our next one in Cape Town on the 26th September, so follow us on Instagram here and sign up for our newsletter on our website.
Where do we find your swimwear?
We supply a few select stores who carry small bespoke ranges but we are concentrating on pop up shops in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Grahamstown and are looking at Durban and other areas too. We also include activewear suitable for yoga, pilates, gym etc.
Aren't these swimming costumes just lovely?
Happy Day,
Cath