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Leigh-Anne is ¼ of the one of the biggest girl bands in the world right now – but she still has time to create a kickass swimwear brand. With the help of her best friend, the Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne is making women feel to feel sexy and confident in her new collection, In ‘A’ Seashell.

We spoke to the star about why she’s funded the whole operation herself, and the importance of representing diversity…

Why did you decide to do the swimwear collection?

I’m obsessed with swimwear. I’ve tried so many different types of bikinis and swimsuits but nothing ever felt like me. It’s always really hard to find swimwear that I love. Whether the quality or the fit. And because I am so obsessed with swimwear I thought ‘you know what – i’m going to make my own.’

I’ve done it with my best friend Gabby because I felt like I didn’t want to do it on my own. I needed somebody to help. It’s a perfect match: we work together so well. I think it’s so amazing to have something on my own – I actually own something.

Why did you decide to fund it yourself?

I wanted full control. I feel like I had so many ideas and visions of what I wanted it to be, I didn’t want anyone else to come in and take over. And I wanted a project: I love fashion – so I thought why not do it on my own? It’s been such an amazing learning curve and experience. And I would not have done it any other way.

What have you learned?

What it really takes to create a business. It is hard work. It is so hard. And what I thought it would take, it’s so much more. Everything to do with admin, shipping, all the different things that it takes to create a brand. There are so many factors that you need to think about. I honestly didn’t have a clue about anything when I started it. We’ve been learning as we go. But it’s been so fun – i’ve loved every second of it. For me, the designing is what I love, and Gabby is really good at doing most of the admin and things like that. I take over social media: we have a good balance of what we both do.

What does your brand offer to women?

What we offer a brand that promotes self-love and empowers women. We want women to feel incredible when they wear it. If you go on my Instagram you’ll see that we don’t want to use models with the same body type. We want to represent different types of women, different shapes, different races.

I don’t think I see enough of that in swimwear in swimwear campaigns; that was our sole mission with our collection: making it so inclusive. It’s fun as well – we’re not taking it too seriously. It’s all about loving yourself and feeling incredible and sexy when you wear it.

Are you happy with the end result?

I love it – i’m so so happy with it. I can’t wait to bring out the new designs. We’ve got a swimsuit coming out, more colours, more sizes. We want to go into lounge as well – it’s really exciting. Right now it’s all about growing. I couldn’t be happier and especially because everybody loves it –it’s great hearing people’s review on it and getting their feedback. When they’re saying the fit’s so beautiful and the quality is amazing, it makes us feel so incredible.