Livin’ Swimwear

Environmentally conscious beach fashion

We dive head first into the line of ethical and sustainable swimwear created by French Riviera designer Axel de Messerman. You’ll look beautiful while sunbathing and swimming without harming the planet!

Par Laurence Jacquet

Axel de Messermann created her brand, LIVIN’ Swimwear, in her family home in Villefranche-sur-Mer. But her fashion collection originated in a much more distant land: a little village in northern Bali, where she volunteered teaching English to young children in 2017, just after completing her university exchange in Singapore and her internship at Givenchy. However, the dreamy landscapes of the Indonesian island paradise were marred by the plastic pollution, which sickened Axel. So she organised beach clean-us with her students. “If only there was a way to transform this waste,” she told herself. She became increasingly involved in environmentalism, without abandoning her love of fashion, working first at Saint Laurent in Paris, then continuing her studies in 2018 in Hong Kong. After specialising in luxury marketing, she joined Louis Vuitton before launching LIVIN’ Swimwear in spring 2021. The concept is a collection of environmentally conscious, reversible swimwear that can be worn in many different ways.

Made from recycled fishing nets

The swimwear is created from a soft yet strong, high-quality fabric that is made in Italy from fishing nets dragged from the ocean, and manufactured using 60% less water and CO2 than traditional nylon. Several luxury brands including Prada and Gucci have already adopted it. Axel then prints her exuberant designs on the fabric, using dyes that are certified with the GOTS and OEKO-TEX labels, which means they are safe for your health and the environment. Axel also produces her designs in limited editions to make them unique and minimise wasteful overproduction. She chose to have them made in a Balinese workshop that specialises in ethical and sustainable products.

Inspired by the French Riviera

Axel’s main inspiration for her line of sexy swimwear in recycled and recyclable nylon was Villefranche-sur-Mer and the shores of the French Riviera. Her latest collection, called “Rétro Riviera”, is steeped in the south of France. “Each design is named after an iconic beach I know: Paloma, Anjuna, Tropézina, Castel… And being able to wear a swimsuit in ten to twenty different ways – using links, rings or ties – makes it feel new every time. So each of these designs helps you reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the ocean – and to tan in style.” Axel de Messerman completes this conscious beachwear with a skirt that matches the bikinis and a summery hand-crocheted bucket hat.

livinswimwear.com