Frankies Bikinis, Danielle Guizio Team Up for Swimwear Collaboration – WWD

Danielle Guizo and Frankies Bikinis’ Francesca Aiello released their highly anticipated, collaborative swimwear and cover-up collection, Frankies Bikinis x Guizio, on Tuesday.

The partnership is a match made in social media heaven — which is coincidentally, where it started. Last fall, Guizio posted an Instagram story asking her customer whom they’d love to see her team up with — Frankies Bikinis was an instant, high-volume request.

The decision to collaborate was a natural evolution — not only due to inquiries, but because both brands share the same values and loyal customer base. Danielle Guizio and Frankies Bikinis were both founded and run by independent female founders (Guizio, Aiello) who design each collection by listening and staying in tune with their customers’ requests.

“There really is so much customer crossover, which makes the design process really special because you don’t have to give up anything that you want to do for the other person. Everything we wanted to do, we both loved it equally. Our customer is very feminine, soft and girly, and loves trends and being very adventurous. I love that both of our customers are down to try different things that we do, whether it be [Danielle] releasing shoes or us making activewear — our girls are super loyal to both of us and willing to try different things to support the brand, which is why I loved doing collaboration. I knew our girls would just like freak out, because they are the same girl,” Aiello said. The designer added she’d also been a longtime fan of Guizio’s work and wanted each style to feel true to her DNA to differentiate the collaboration from other Frankies Bikinis styles she’s created in the past (for instance, her prior collaborations with Pamela Anderson, Gigi Hadid, Victoria’s Secret, etc).

“There’s so many personal elements that really unify the two brands throughout the collection, which is really cool,” Aiello said, referencing the collection’s little bows and ruffles, sweet yet sexy silhouettes and feminine, floral motifs. “Our personalities are really similar too, and that’s shown throughout the collection. I remember when I left meeting Danielle when she came to L.A., I was talking to my business partner and said, ‘She is just so sweet and kind, but also really powerful, has all these amazing ideas and knows what she likes,’ and he said, ‘It sounds like you’re describing yourself.’”

The collection also combines each founder’s roots — Malibu (Aiello) and New York (Guizio) — with styles designed to bridge the gap between beachy swimwear and city-minded ready-to-wear. For instance, the rose and gingham-printed strapless bustier Solstice top, which seamlessly melds Guizio’s bestselling padded corset into Aiello’s nylon and spandex swim fabrications.

“It’s a very Southern California thing to not have padding in your tops; I’m the biggest beach girl ever — when I was younger, you’d never catch me dead in a padded top, but it’s different on the East Coast. I see the beauty in all the different beach towns around the U.S. and the different styles that come from those places. To take an element as small as padding — it’s something we’ve never done before, which Danielle [suggested]. We’ve never had an underwear top that fit as good as this, so I’m really excited for the customer to experience it. That really was all Danielle’s brain, adding that little touch,” Aiello said.

Guizio added the collection’s skirted bikini bottom with matching bralette style top (with mini 3D rosette accents) was inspired by a piece she owned growing up.

“Especially growing up on the East Coast, where we only have summer for a sliver of two months, buying your bikini was a special, sacred moment — you really had to invest in a bikini and love it because you only had a few months to wear it. So, one of the bikinis that is forever ingrained in my mind is the skirted bikini, and Frankies had a very similar silhouette, which I was excited about that. It’s so dainty, feminine and sexy but still a little conservative.”

Other swimwear styles include a matching rose and gingham printed string bikini and two adorable cotton knit bikinis (in pastel pink and aqua) with ditsy floral embroideries.

The duo was also inspired by vintage sleepwear for their white pointelle cami and short set and pastel sheer mesh mini slipdress with dainty lace and sweet little bow details, while their slipper pink, backless crochet dress was designed to be lightweight, free and comfortable, even if the garment hits the water.

“It’s been so refreshing to work with friends,” Guizio said. “I know Francesca and I started the same way — female-founded brands and figuring it out as we went. It’s been such a beautiful experience. Not only have we worked so well in tandem, but I feel like there was so much to learn from each other and I think that reflects to the collection too.”

“That was definitely my biggest takeaway too — being able to show other people how to support other women in the same industry,” Aiello echoed. “For us to be able to influence younger girls to truly support women and see what that actually means to do that, that’s what this collection means to us.”

The Frankies Bikinis x Guizio limited-edition, collaborative collection is priced $90 to $390, and is available on both brands’ websites.