Born and Bred – Leah Madden

Leah Madden

WHEN DID YOU ESTABLISH YOUR BRAND/BUSINESS? Almost 15 years ago, in 2008.

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO FASHION? I have always loved fashion, my mother was very well dressed and spent a lot of time in Europe. She was wearing Pucci and Gottex poolside before it was available in Australia. After travelling to Brazil and experiencing the culture and fashion, I was obsessed with designing swimwear for the Australian market. At the time, swimwear in Australia was mostly surf or sport, we really weren’t doing ‘fashion’ swim the way they were in Europe and Latin America. I knew that the tiny cuts would take off here, and they really did. I was asked to show at Australian Fashion Week, featured in Vogue and sold into David Jones in our first year.

HOW HAS YOUR BRAND EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS? The entire industry has changed, a lot. When I started White Sands, instagram didn’t exist, now it is our main driver of sales. We were entirely wholesale based in the early years, selling to big retailers like David Jones and Anthropologie in the USA. Now we have moved to a direct to customer model and almost all of our sales are online.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU EACH SEASON AND HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH YOUR NEW DESIGNS? Travel is my biggest inspiration. Moments in the sun, I’ll see a colour or a landscape and drift off into a world where I become immersed in colours and prints. I’ll see colours that work beautifully together, or a print and it quickly forms a moodboard in my head. From there it’s more about curating the collection down. My walls end up covered in prints and fabric swatches, and I have to slowly take pieces away until it works as a concise capsule.

AS A GOLD COASTER, HOW DOES LIVING HERE INFLUENCE YOUR AESTHETIC? I was born and raised on the Gold Coast and I love it here, but I’ve never been about the ’surf’ culture. I love that we spend so much of the year in swimwear. It’s one of the few cities in the world where wearing swimwear up to the cafe, or just a bikini top with shorts is acceptable. Growing up here has probably given me a firm understanding of what really works on a body. Designs need to be practical as well as beautiful.

HOW DOES CUSTOMER FEEDBACK CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR DESIGNS? Staying ahead of feedback is key! Ideally I will have a grasp of what’s coming, rather than chasing trends. I try to test my fit samples on real bodies as much as I can before ordering thousands of them, so the feedback on fit is done before it’s sold to customers. We also ask customers for feedback after they purchase, so if a cut can be improved we can make those changes next time.

WHAT ARE THE “TRENDS” FOR THIS COMING SUMMER SEASON? The 70s, 80s and 90s are enduring trends over the last few years. The highcut leg and classic shapes in solid colours have been bestsellers each season. Sexy minimal cuts are at the forefront, underboob is a huge trend. Thong swimwear has become mainstream even for younger girls. I think this minimalist carefree vibe will stay strong for another couple of seasons, before we return to trends like more structured swimwear, intricate detail, specialised trim and underwire styles. As a designer I’m really looking forward to creating more of those innovative styles that White Sands is known for.

ARE YOU EXPERIMENTING WITH ANY NEW FABRICS OR TECHNIQUES? Always! We recently did a velvet collection that was well received, I’m working on textures like seersucker and lace for coming collections. I’ll visit my factories in China soon, as it’s really a ‘hands on’ job working with patterns and fabrics. Covid made things difficult with factory shutdowns and shipping delays, so I’m lucky that I’ve got a great team to work with, who ensured that quality was maintained and delivery times were met even though I couldn’t be there.