When she was growing up, Tiffany Tibbot remembers feeling at odds with the same article of clothing that she now designs for a living.
“There definitely was a pain point,” the self-described “lake-dweller” says of her younger years spent on Lake Sammamish, just outside of Seattle, where she would go water skiing, kneeboarding, and tubing. “I always wanted to have the cutest bikini, but it was so hard to find something that actually stayed on, had great quality, and could last through all the activities I put it through.”
Now the founder and designer of groundbreaking swimwear company The B. Side, 25-year-old WeWork Fulton Center member caters to women just like her: Millennials in need of an adaptable bathing suit that can keep up with their mobile, fast-paced lifestyle.
“These women, 24 to 34 right now, are women that have versatility in their life,” says Tibbot.
These women could be in the tourism industry, she explains, and having the option of packing one suit that can transform into eight different suits for eight days of travel, is beneficial beyond belief. Or maybe the customer doesn’t need the transition so much as wants one. And who doesn’t want more bang for their buck?
“You can have different looks, different functionalities, out of one suit,” she says. “I live in my suits. I wore one as a sports bra when I was running this weekend.”
Before she was designing swimwear and spearheading her own company, Tibbot had a standard relationship with bathing suits, one that many women can relate to: a closet containing suits she really liked and wore often, as well as suits saved for special occasions. They ranged from sporty to fashionable, but none of them were able to “mesh it all in one.”
“That’s the whole reason I created this company,” says Tibbot. “It was this idea of why can’t you have something that goes right from fashion to function so easily?”
Tibbot says the idea for The B. Side—defined as “the other side of swimwear” in a promotional video on the website—popped in her head while on vacation.
“I wanted to go from tanning right to a water aerobics class, and I was like, ‘Why isn’t there something that you can move the straps with?’” Introduced to the innovation of sporting technology while working at Juicy Sport, Juicy Couture’s athletic wear line, Tibbot finally decided to start her dream collection of swimwear.
The B. Side’s striking and reversible bikini tops and bottoms are all named after streets in New York: there’s the Astor, Monroe, Carlisle, Jane, and a one-piece that will soon join the collection. The fabric of The B. Side’s swimwear comes from Italy and has UV protection, quick-dry capability, and is resistant to chlorine, salt water, and hot water—“all the elements,” she says, “that you could possibly put your swimsuit through.” Straps are made in New York’s Garment District, and suits are then constructed in West Newark, New Jersey. But back to those straps.
“These are one-of-a-kind straps,” Tibbot says of the nylon-spandex blend coated in polyurethane that she created, based on the silicone-like grip element essential to strapless bras. “I wanted it to feel the same way, because I knew that no matter how you wore it, it would have to have that security. It’s smooth enough from the construction and the fabric, but able to move in different directions to be transitional.”
The B. Side’s tops and bottoms come in eye-catching combinations: leopard print and yellow, hot pink and black, and electric blue and white.
“I think that bright colors are the way to go in swimwear because it is the most vulnerable and exposing wardrobe piece that you have,” says Tibbot, emphasizing the need for women to feel at ease while wearing swimwear.
Tibbot certainly practices what she preaches. In early July 2015, Tibbot participated in CNBC’s weekly Shark Tank-esque “Power Pitch” series, giving a 60-second pitch about her company and then answering questions from industry experts. Underneath a smart white sweater, Tibbot sports a hot pink B. Side bikini top.
“It’s the idea that I am the embodiment of our brand,” says Tibbot. “I get it. I’m making it for myself, and I’m making it for you.”
Photo credit: Lauren Kallen