Now that April’s here, it might as well be Spring. In that spirit, we’re turning our attention toward swimwear, particularly THORSUN, a new company launching a unique blend of essentials including original prints and hand embroidered details.
For SS15, THORSUN designer George Sotelo travelled to Mata Ortiz, a little known desert town one hundred miles south of the US border (population 1,182). The town is known for having the largest concentration of artisan ceramic makers in the Americas, having dedicated themselves to the revival of forgotten Mesoamerican pottery since the 1960s.
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“I grew up going to Mexico every summer as kid,” explains Soleto. “When you travel by road in-between these places you cross through some really cool and diverse Indigenous towns. I went to the Artisanal Ceramic Museum in Morelia that was showcasing pottery from different regions of Mexico and that’s where I first came across this style of pottery.”
From there, he slowly started collecting and buying ceramics and pottery as gifts. “I started becoming that guy who collects plates and pottery,” he jokes.
Soleto looked no further than his second home for inspiration, but wanted to eschew the more traditional route of references including Frida Khalo, Fiesta wear or typical Tulum bohemia.
“Developing this line was a lot of fun for me, but there were definitely a lot of challenges trying to get across the artisanal vibe without being too aggressive or coming off too bohemian. I had to play with the scale a lot and modernize some of the prints.”
To do this, he started introducing other styles and art movements such as Bauhaus and Modernism, settling on a style of prints he refers to as ‘Modern Pueblo’.
The entire line is made in New York’s Garment District with fabrics sourced from France. Each swimsuit features five pockets: Deep pockets with a coin pocket, a zippered back pocket and an internal security pocket for cash and credit cards.
You can purchase THORSUN at Bergdorf Goodman NYC, Webster Miami, Matches Fashion UK and online at Thorsun.com.
