ARTS & CULTURE Size-Inclusive Summer Fun

University of Cincinnati graduate Taylor Long’s swimwear brand Nomads is gaining national recognition for its sustainable and size-inclusive designs.

BY KATIE GRIFFITH

Three years after launching her destination-inspired, size-inclusive swimwear brand, University of Cincinnati graduate Taylor Long is being recognized nationally for her evolving brand’s sustainability practices and unique designs.

Media outlets from Sports Illustrated to Marie Claire and Essence have praised Long’s brand, Nomads, for its elegant looks, size-inclusivity and sustainability. Since May, online and instore retail chain Anthropologie began carrying Nomads’ swimsuits – an achievement Long claims as one of her best yet.

Long tells CityBeat that Nomads is currently the most size-inclusive swimwear brand that Anthropologie offers; it also happens to highlight designs she created for her capstone project at UC’s college of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

“With Anthropologie being a major national retailer, a household name, it’s an incredible achievement, especially being such a young brand,” Long says. “As a solo founder and pretty much one-person team, it’s even more crazy to think that this is something that has been accomplished. But it’s also a really big deal that we’re the most size-inclusive swim brand they carry currently.”

The Nomads’ one-shoulder, onepiece swimsuit featured on Anthropologie employs Long’s signature inclusion of mesh, which not only adds elegance but comfort and a flattering, hold-in aspect.

“The power mesh is great because it gives you a little bit of that sex appeal, but it also is functional in that it’s adding lift and holding you in,” she says.

“And not in an uncomfortable way, but for additional support in all the areas that you need it.”

While there are a number of designs available on Anthropologie’s website, Long’s DAAP creation is a two-piece featured in “pebble” and “espresso” colors with an intricate design that imitates lace. Every Nomads swimsuit is double-lined for comfort, and some fabrics are cinched at the waist and straps, which provides extra support and an additional stylish detail.

Long’s patterns are inspired by photos of international locations that she’s taken while traveling over the years. Her first suits (and capstone work) featured

Australian-inspired looks. The patterns are abstracted and simplified so they aren’t obvious landscapes, a refreshing turn away from the typical palm tree, sunset or beach scene print.

“I had just come back from a trip to Australia,” Long says. “And I had these really cool photos of rocks and different things I saw in nature that I thought at the time were really cool, but it kind of struck me as really interesting if each collection was destination-inspired by places that I’ve gone to, experienced, photographed and then those would make up the color story and themes for the collections.”

Long says she received a lot of positive feedback from friends and peers, who began asking if the pieces were for sale. She said she had no idea where to start, but began searching for manufacturers before she graduated. This was the unassuming start of Nomads. In June 2020, one year after Long graduated from DAAP, the line officially launched.

While Long’s fashion background was enhanced by her studies, her first experience in the fashion world was through modeling. She landed a contract with Wilhelmina Models – a top modeling agency headquartered in New York City – during her time at DAAP and experienced firsthand the industry’s bias toward “straight sized” people. Long cites “straight” sizes as zero through 14, and “plus” sizes as 15 and up.

Not only were plus size designs matronly and unflattering, she says, but the shopping experience was “abysmal,” and often shoved to a dark corner in a store, without the same options as other departments. Long says when shopping, she often feels like certain brands deem her “unworthy” of their products because they don’t design for her body type.

“It really wears on you,” she says. “It really wears on your psyche. It’s kind of wild to think that people can kind of cherry pick and choose what sizes they want to design for when the average American woman is now being defined as size 18-20.”

Long says fatphobia is rampant throughout the fashion industry, and she’d like to see plus sizes morphed into a continuation of straight sizes, instead of showcased in different areas and with different designs completely.

Nomads is a great example of not regarding plus sizes as an afterthought or separate from any other designs. The website offers a sizing guide with specific measurements ranging from XS-5X.

“I think a lot of what you’re told and what the industry would have you believe is that straight sizes have to be designed one way and plus have to be designed another,” Long says. “And while there are some different things you have to take into account when designing for plus sizes because the body is different, that doesn’t mean that the design has to be totally changed or covered up or anything like that. So it was really important for me to have a really diverse size range.”

Not only are Nomads’ designs created with different body types in mind, materials are sourced ethically and the swimsuits are manufactured in the U.S. and they make use of a cutting-edge biodegradable material.

Nomads is based in Atlanta and employs a woman-owned factory in Los Angeles called Lefty Production Co. for all of its manufacturing. Some of the fabric used to create Nomads swimsuits are made by Amni Soul Eco, which produces a biodegradable material that is eliminated from the planet in approximately five years, according to its website. Amni Soul Eco manufactures yarn that is utilized by a variety of manufacturers, from swimsuits to winter jackets and sportswear to luxury clothing.

Long says that making the switch was costly but worth it. The use of Amni Soul Eco products places Nomads a step above other sustainability efforts, which Long believes defines her as a designer who takes environmental protection seriously. Long tells CityBeat that the average fabric sells for $1 per yard, while the biodegradable product can be anywhere from $11-$15 per yard. She added that if designers aren’t creating for the vast majority of people and average sizes, there will be tons of excess material that doesn’t “just disappear” while Amni Soul Eco actually does. The price increase allowed Long to reimagine her process and begin to create small-batch lines, which adds to the brands’ high-end but approachable appeal.

“I didn’t want to be another designer that was contributing to the overproduction problem and creating things just for the sake of creating them, with no end of life in mind for those garments,” Long says. “So that really forced me to kind of think of the entire lifecycle of the garments from design to production, all the way to the end of life. And I haven’t been able to find a fabric that’s softer than this one. Literally no other fabric is as buttery or silky as this biodegradable fabric.”

Nomads’ most recent collection launched at the end of May. “St. Maarten” is inspired by a trip to the Caribbean paradise and it features classic Nomads looks with muted, beachy colors and patterns. It’s a cohesive line that ties in tropical tones balanced with subtle, soft patterns.

In late June, Shopbop – a global online retail company – will carry Nomads designs, Long says. And her next project will feature patterns made in collaboration with artist Reyna Noriega, who focuses on positive representation for women of color, according to her website.

“As a small brand, to be able to advocate in this way is important,” Long says. “There are bigger brands that have been around much longer than us who don’t even come close in the size range department. And to think that we have only been around for three years and are already making these changes – like industry-wide changes – is really a proud moment for me.”

For more information about Nomads, visit nomadsswimwear.com.