A Swimwear Line Informed by Professional Athletes

Swimwear, according to the designer Maayan Sherris, has to perform simultaneous tasks that your day-to-day clothes do not: it must both support the body and also move with its contours, all while under water. It’s a challenge that the Parsons graduate eagerly tackled in 2015 during a research project with the Columbia University women’s swim team, for which she translated the athletes’ needs into a line of sensible bikinis and functional one-pieces. “I like that my clothing serves a purpose,” Sherris said about the swimsuit label Babes in Bathers, which she launched in 2016 using her findings from that project. Now, after two years of development, the brand is ready to introduce a more expansive men’s offering that, in keeping with Sherris’s objective, addresses the needs and preferences of real swimmers. “I wanted to make sure I had a comfortable swimsuit that fits really well to the male body,” she said.

Inspired by performance sportswear, the men’s line consists of five styles of swim bottoms made from supple nylons and spandex sourced and sewn in New York. There are more agile and drag-resistant brief and jammer styles, with strong yet comfortable compression, designed with competitive swimmers in mind. But the collection also includes a variety of shorts with different lengths and silhouettes to accommodate any body type, including an electric blue running-short style and a Bermuda-short style with exposed pockets that comes in peach, purple and silver. “I’m trying to cater to those normal guys who are just looking for swimsuits that look good on them,” Sherris said.

For Sherris, any ocean or pool is an opportunity to test out her swimsuits. The designer researches her pieces by talking with communities of athletes about their needs — whether on a trip to Hawaii, where the current collection was photographed, to India, where she interviewed two Olympic male swimmers, or even Montauk, N.Y., where a recent conversation with the area’s surfers inspired her to start developing a rash guard. “Sourcing locally and speaking to the local community is my No. 1 thing,” she said. “It’s crucial to me to have the suit be purposeful and not just pretty.” babesinbathers.com — ALEX TUDELA