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If you’ve got a fashion brand most folks align with curvy bombshell ambassadors, it makes sense you’d turn to Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman when you wanted to collaborate with influencers on a swimwear range.
The duo behind the wildly popular A Bikini A Day blog, who also have their own swim and activewear line called Monday, are a natural fit for the 36-year-old fashion brand that first propelled Claudia Schiffer to fame as its face back in early 1990s, then did the same for the late Anna Nicole Smith not long after. (Alessandra Ambrosio and Ausssie model Jess Hart are also amongst the past campaign alumni.)
Oakley (left) and Brugman wore gingham bikini tops from the range at its LA launch
Credit: Instagram @devinbrugman
Still, Australian Oakley and her Hawaiian best friend and business partner Brugman, need very little help in the propulsion or popularity stakes. Add together their individual Instagram accounts, then throw in their mutual ABAD, Monday Swimwear and Monday Active business ones too, and the social stars have almost four million followers of sorts between them.
The brand propelled new face Claudia Schiffer, who bears a resemblance to Oakley, to stardom back in 1990
In a smart commercial move, GUESS teamed with the pair to co-design a capsule collection of vintage-inspired mostly gingham and red swimwear.
The range was showcased in an ad campaign starring Oakley and Brugman, shot by Los Angeles photographer Tatiana Gerusova and directed by the brand’s 65-year-old founder Paul Marciano himself, who is based in Los Angeles and a long-time friend of the Hadid family. (Apparently Gigi, Bella and Anwar refer to him as uncle, as do Marciano’s children of Mohamed Hadid.)
The bikini-savvy pair stars in the black and white campaign shot in Los Angeles
Credit: Tatiana Gerusova
But as obvious as the partnership might seem in a modern age, there’s one element that is more than a little surprising. Despite having already been released overseas, GRAZIA’s calls to Australian GUESS stores turned up info that the collection isn’t expected here any time soon. Granted, the US and Europe are dropping into peak summer swimwear season, but if ever there was a nation that shops swimsuits all year round (hello Bali holiday, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week or Sunshine Coast short stays), then it’s us.
[Post note: a spokesperson for GUESS has confirmed the range will not be sold in Australia.]
Regardless, salutations to our Tash for what she’s been quoted as calling “by far the biggest collaboration we’ve done yet”. Lucky we can still shop your own Monday range of swimwear here in your homeland.
Credit: Instagram @tashoakley
