When I finally caught St. Louis-based entrepreneur Reshma Chamberlin for a Skype call, she had just finished up a long day of family bonding with her sister in Dubai following a short pitstop in Kenya. Among other things, Chamberlin is the cofounder of Summersalt, a socially conscious and environmentally friendly swimwear brand that launched in May 2017.
Sure, landlocked Missouri may seem like an unusual home base for a swimwear line, but Chamberlin is rarely ever there; at any given time, she could be doing business in New York, adventuring with her family in India, or visiting one of her three best friends in Hong Kong, Miami, or London. And besides, Chamberlin is accustomed to doing things a little differently: With an accessible price point, a commendable focus on sustainability (for starters, their suits are made of almost 100 percent recycled materials), and a genuine interest in diversity of body type and skin color, Summersalt is not your typical luxury brand. “We’re filling a gap in the swimwear industry,” she says.
An immigrant who went to an international school in southern India and a serial globetrotter from a young age, Chamberlin’s multicultural upbringing has influenced her work. Of Lee Litumbe, the Cameroonian-born, American-raised entrepreneur and travel blogger who served as the model for the most recent “Summersalt Adventure” campaign, Chamberlin says, “We showcase women who are unconventional. Lee is interesting because she’s built this amazing life for herself, and she’s not afraid of adventure, whatever it is.” According to Chamberlin, the industry is sorely lacking in representative marketing, something that Summersalt addresses naturally. “It’s really important to embrace diversity without it being a marketing ploy—it’s about who we are. When we look at the cross-section of swimwear brands, they’re pretty homogenous in their representation; [swimwear models] are usually size two white girls. We’re different.” Litumbe, who is now based in Senegal but is traveling all around the continent, is interested in changing narratives as well through her work and travels. “I’m passionate about elevating how the world sees Africa, and how Africans see themselves,” she says.
Another welcome change? The folks behind the brand are all women—from top to bottom. Instead of men designing the garments, as has traditionally been the case in this industry, Summersalt suits are thoughtfully designed based on massive amounts of research conducted by co-founder Lori Coulter to create a better fitting piece. “Swimwear is such a personal garment, and buying it is all about confidence,” Chamberlin says. “Everything we do is to make the experience of buying swimwear more comfortable for women.” She believes that when women feel comfortable, they take more risks and seek more happiness. “Our goal is to inspire women to dive into life,” Chamberlin says. “Swimwear delights the childlike joy within us.”
On the island of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean, Litumbe was joined by Zanzibari photographer Nasrin Suleiman for the Summersalt campaign shoot. Both women were committed to telling the stories of the people instead of simply taking “pretty pictures without context,” Litumbe says, showcasing a sincerity that has contributed to the success of her blog, Spirited Pursuit. As for why she chose Zanzibar as the campaign location, Chamberlin says that she wanted the photos to convey the adventurous spirit so central to the brand. “The photographs are so powerful; they’re more photojournalistic than anything,” she says. “Our swimwear is meant to inspire that sense of adventure, whether that’s a slip-n-slide in your backyard, or a bucket-list trip.”