The best summer memories usually aren't made alone. They're collective moments with people you love, whether on a weeklong surf retreat or perched around a fire pit in your backyard. So when Frankies Bikinis founder and creative director Francesca Aiello picked a celebrity collaborator for her label's summer swim drop, she chose a longtime friend who shared some of her best memories growing up in Malibu—Gigi Hadid.
The two channeled their side-by-side girlhoods spent on the beach, plus personal details from Hadid's current life on her farm in Pennsylvania, into their first Frankies Bikinis collection together. The line dips heavily into sentimental prints and feminine cuts, and it's expansive: 98 pieces including swimsuits and ready-to-wear across two drops, in sizes XS–XXL.
From floral prints to easygoing matching lounge sets, the collection is meant to feel like home (and the friendships that evoke similarly cozy feelings.) "We designed this collection with so much love, and I believe that really shines through in the details within the fabrics, prints and styles we chose to use," Hadid said. "Both Frank and I have very social lives but also are big homebodies, and the collection really embodies that side of us."
You'll see that down-home sensibility in the carefree campaign for the line, shot by another childhood friend, Alana O’Herlihy. There are also hidden details within the fabrics, including a double-take of a toile printed one-piece which reveals a tree stump Hadid chose to represent her relationship with Aiello, plus a mother and baby deer to symbolize motherhood.
"The opportunity to work with Gigi on this collection has been a dream come true," Aiello tells BAZAAR.com. "We grew up spending our days at the beach in bikinis, so to be able to now design a collection of swimwear and loungewear—something that we grew up living in—together is really a full circle moment for the both of us."
Exclusive: Gigi Hadid for Frankies Bikinis Polaroids
The collection also plays with quintessential summer fabrics, like pointelle and terry cloth, in new, swim-safe forms. "Our customers love to have a matching bikini and apparel moment, and this allows for a seamless beach to street transition in your coordinated outfit," Aiello says.
Wearing Gigi Hadid's swimwear collection for Frankies will make the most familiar summer destinations feel a little more new—but no less special. For her part, Aiello tells us she'll wear the collection's nostalgia-laced swimsuits on trips to Little Dume, a beach she grew up visiting, this summer. Pack one wherever you're headed to make it feel like home.
Gigi Hadid's first capsule for Frankies Bikinis will arrive on May 11, followed by a second drop on June 2. Both will be available exclusively at frankiesbikinis.com.
Halie LeSavage is the fashion commerce editor at Harper's BAZAAR. Her style reporting covers everything from reviewing the best designer products to profiling emerging brands and designers. Previously, she was the founding retail writer at Morning Brew and a fashion associate at Glamour.
