AMBER LONDON

Sana Hanassi-Savari set out to revolutionize the swimwear industry with AMBER LONDON, her most recent collection “Resort 22” has been purposefully designed, produced, and modelled on everyday women for everyday wearing.

Sana, congratulations on the new collection, this is now your second season producing swimwear, the look this time looks very different, we love the models which are wearing your designs. How did your approach to designing this collection differ from the last time?

Thank you and thanks for the kind words. I love to think of each collection as integral part of our journey, so I believe there are a lot of common elements in our approach across designs and across seasons. We continue providing our customers with choice by adding a new set of diverse styles and exciting colors. In our Resort collection, bikini styles might seem different in look but they remain true to our commitment towards timeless style and comfort, with a strong focus on multi-use purpose for pieces that can be enjoyed beyond the water. Size and fit continue to be key pillars of our design process and that has driven our choices in terms of models, looks and styles.

Swimwear can be one of the most terrifying things to wear for many people, you are essentially wearing the same volume of material we use for our underwear, aside from wearing AMBER LONDON SWIM, what words of advice would you give our readers to feel their best on the beach?

The feeling totally resonates with me, I spent years feeling self-conscious about my body and choosing swimwear had become an extremely painful process: the pieces I liked would not fit my curves, the ones I did fit in would just simply not look good on me. It’s important to realise that we are not all made to be equal, diversity is what makes this world beautiful, I mean it would be boring if we all looked the same, dressed the same and did the same things. It’s important to realise that we all have our own struggles and insecurities and we shouldn’t judge people from what we see from the outside. I guess true confidence comes from the inside and it can take many of us years to master, so most importantly you should do what is right for you and what makes you feel good. This also applies to what you wear, focus on what makes you feel comfortable and good - this is particularly important when it comes to swimwear. I would personally say wear the right size and invest in good quality swimwear, the right pieces will give you all the confidence that you need and they’ll become staple pieces in your wardrobe. Spend time searching for the brands and pieces that work for you, it’s worth the effort and you’ll feel so much better when you do. Other than that, just try to relax and enjoy yourself, don’t over think things. As a female entrepreneur in a competitive market, what do you do to spur yourself on to keep going and how can our readers apply them to their daily lives.

I have started my career in finance so I have always thrived in competitive environments: the feeling of pushing myself and establishing a name for myself is quintessential to me. In swimwear, and more generally in fashion, this is no different. You need to believe in yourself and believe in your story, look at everything with an inquisitive eye to test every detail from the very beginning and don’t stop at the first hiccup.

London is not the first place we think of when we think of swimwear, but it is one of the fashion capitals, you’ve already secured yourself a LA stockist via Wolf & Badger, what else do you plan on doing in the city of Angels?

We are very happy to have started our journey with a strong international focus, with customers from Europe, US and even Australia from the very beginning both from our online store and via WOLF & BADGER platform. LA holds a very special spot in our future plans: we stepped into the city of angels thanks to WOLF & BADGER and our online store but we would love to establish a stronger physical presence: in an ideal world scenario, pop-up shops and few collaborations could foster our brand in the city. We are a young brand with ambitious dreams and that really seems in line with the spirit of the city, where the sun shines throughout the year and the Hollywood world attracts bright young talents in search of their own path.

Sustainability has been a buzzword in the fashion industry for some time – we would love to know what you are doing at AMBER LONDON to be as green as possible.

Sustainability is part of our ethos, we pride ourselves on being an eco-friendly brand with a conscious mindset. We are set to challenge fast fashion trends by providing timeless core collections that use high-quality, durable materials. From the very start, we have decided to work with local Italian suppliers that are themselves committed to sustainability and social investments. We promote conscious buying, limited production runs, design with multi-use purpose and we utilise recycled and re-usable packaging. Where possible we utilise sustainable materials, for example each piece of the Resort collection is made from recycled fabrics (specifically the swimwear is made of ECONYL®, a premium yarn that gets regenerated from waste such as fabric scraps and fishing nets). Sizing is a big deal, consumers are misled by many brands and are often put in positions where they can feel body conscious. Your recent campaign depicts the female form as we know and love ourselves, what’s the key to designing swimwear for real women?

I totally agree, it is very difficult sometimes to find your perfect fit when it comes to swimwear and I have certainly suffered from that. The key is recognising that the female form is diverse. I don’t think applying one size for a bikini top and bottom really works for most women, it assumes we have the same top and bottom sizes, that all women with a small back also have a small bust and vice versa (I am the perfect example as to why this assumption is wrong, I am a U.K. 6 / US 2 and have a bust of 32DD/E). Swimwear is like lingerie, the fit is crucial, it is not a t-shirt, where if the size is a little small or a little large it could still work, swimwear needs to fit us perfectly. That is why at AMBER LONDON our bikini tops and bottoms come as separates and why our bikini tops are based on cup-sizes. Swimwear is essentially underwear designed for the water so it should be sized in the same way. When designing our swimwear, we thoroughly test them, the initial samples are done to my size, and we continue iterating our samples until I am fully happy with the fit, we then test the size range on women of different body shapes and sizes, we don’t just scale up and down our sizes, we test on real bodies. This process usually takes over a year.

Can you tell our readers 3 facts about yourself not related to work?

Well, I am fairly introvert, so this question is probably the most difficult for me. I am an avid reader, usually looking for romance and adventure stories I can read through when I travel or when I am back home from work. I love going to the gym, me and my partner have a decent routine and we went through all phases: gym, HIIT, boxing (even lockdown home gym). I am the definition of foodie; my soft spot are Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. What can we expect from AMBER LONDON over the next few years, do we see standalone stores, a female empowered podcast, or the venture into RTW perhaps?

We are still pretty young and for that reason we are very agile; we want to remain true to our identity, so we avoid overthinking and committing to changes too far ahead, but we have big dreams and we are taking baby steps to move towards those. Accessories and RTW are already part of our latest collection, so it seems more natural to expand in that direction further with new looks and new prints. We might try to create a one stop shop solution for our customers’ summer needs, but let’s see where this path takes us!

What insecurities did you find before you created AMBER LONDON when you were on the hunt for swimwear and what were your biggest regrets? We’ve all bought unsupportive bikini tops and ended up with holiday snaps we wouldn’t share with

I have a small back and a fuller bust and really hated shopping for swimwear, I used to avoid certain stores knowing that they would not offer my size or would not have any options for me, when online shopping I would filter to my size just so I wouldn’t be disappointed seeing pieces that I liked that didn’t work for me. I would look at my girlfriends’ swimwear and think why can I not find pieces like that. At some point I even considered a breast reduction surgery, which I didn’t go ahead with in the end. Over time I stopped overthinking and gained more confidence in myself and my body. My main regret is that I should have started AMBER LONDON sooner, I’ve had the idea for over 10 years, I would have had the right swimwear much earlier on and would have felt better about myself sooner. I would say to other girls and women who feel insecure about their size and body to spend time finding pieces that fit them best, to really search for the right brands and not just be let down if the mainstream stores don’t cater for them. We are loving the images we’ve seen of your designs in editorials featuring your swimwear as not just something for the by the pool. What are your style tips for incorporating AMBER LONDON into the everyday closet?

Our designs are born from the idea that swimwear is an integral part of your wardrobe, with pieces that really complement your everyday style and not just confined to the water. I often wear our bikini tops as a sports bra to the gym or to a yoga session or even on a long-haul flight since I find them more comfortable than lingerie. Our bikini tops can be styled with our resort wear or everyday outfits from AM-PM. For example, style our Positano top with a pair of shorts and our Beatrice Kimono for a casual poolside bar look or laid back summer day out. Wear our Milano top under a blazer and with jeans or with our Luna wrap skirt and a pair of heels for dressedup dinner out. Our accessories, for example the Rebecca bandana can really spice up any of your looks all year round. These are just a few examples, but the possibilities are really endless.