Interview: We Are Handsome

July 19th, 2010

Thanks to We Are Handsome, you won’t need a sunburn to stand out at the beach this summer. The breakout swimwear collaboration from Aussie designers Indhra Chagoury and Jeremy Somers is a sight for sore eyes. Slick enough to go from poolside to party, the line of hand-made one-pieces is splashed with bold colours and retro-inspired imagery – we can’t wait to suit up.

The Block: How did you two meet and create We Are Handsome?

We Are Handsome: We’ve been friends for quite a while now, close to six or seven years. We used to work together at a nightclub in Sydney, where Indhra managed the bar and I was the creative director. Indhra had run Oscar & Elvis – an awesome swimwear label in its own right – for about five years when I approached her about what was to become We Are Handsome. Of course, you know how these things go. A little idea turns into a lot of work, and a lot of work turns into a little success, and so on…

TB: How do bathing suits (Oscar and Elvis) and iPod cases (People Like Us), your respective independent projects, come together in this collaboration?

WAH: For us, it’s our combination of talents that make WAH work well. We both have strengths where the other doesn’t, and luckily for us, they complement each other. Between us, we have almost 20 years of experience in running our own businesses, and we both have creative projects with varying degrees of success. While WAH has blown up in a very short period of time, we firmly believe it’s our wealth of experiences that have made WAH what it is. Of course, luck plays a part, as does timing, but experience counts for a big part of it.

TB: Why one-pieces?

WAH: One-pieces were our starting point, solely because that’s what we had the idea to do. For our prints we need as large a canvas as possible to work with, and we both see the classic scoop-back one-piece as unbelievably sexy. Swimwear shouldn’t be all about showing as much skin as possible; once upon a time it was elegant and sophisticated.

Of course, thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve had, we’ve expanded into two-pieces. However, we’d love to think that the one-piece will always play a vital part in our collections.

TB: You aim to “fuse art, swimwear, and fashion” – and undoubtedly succeed. But how does one begin?

WAH: Inspiration is always the first step for us. We are image hoarders, both of us. We gather images from everywhere possible and have folders, piles, scrapbooks, and whole hard drives full of them! Of course, one can’t explain the creative process, but once we have an idea, we explore the themes and images associated with it, and then figure out what we’d like to do with it and our apparel. Our designs always come from a creative place of art and design, and work their way through to the swimwear.

TB: From motorbikes and James Dean to roaring lions – what was the theme of this year’s collection?

WAH: Our debut collection was all born from the idea that we wanted to create images that you felt like you’ve seen before. The familiarity of all our prints is really important, even though you’ve never actually seen them before. We love to be able to create an emotional connection to an image and for it to bring back memories or thoughts of distant times.

TB: Where will you seek out inspiration for next season’s collection?

WAH: We have ideas for the unifying theme, but have yet to decide on the direction. Usually, we make a lot of images and then see what really sticks out for us.

TB: Are there any other collaborations in your future, or any plans to branch out beyond swimwear?

WAH: This is a hard one, because I’m really superstitious about revealing my plans before they actually happen. Let’s just say that we’ve been asked by some very recognizable brands and personalities to collaborate, and that this year should prove to be very crazy.

TB: So, how did you get so handsome anyway?

WAH: We’re way too modest to answer this one.

Interview Darcy Smith