Coming out of the water fully dressed after a great session of action-loaded watersport is a real challenge for women that like to wear bikinis AND extreme watersport. Jocelyn Kotulla, passionated kitesurfer, decided on her trip to Brasil to give female athletes in watersports a bikini that is actually suited for a progressive athlete.
Text: Esther Suave
Surfindustry is booming. Big surfbrands still promote female professional athletes – despite their high level and ability – posing in bikinis at the beach. The billboard of their male counterparts shows serious males in fast barrels or huge monster waves.
The only truth in this representation is that the shown bikini will abandon it’s righteous owner in the first wave.
Kotulla, with a tiny initial capital but absolutely determined to produce fair and sustainable, founds Josea Surfwear in 2015.
Jocelyn, 32, is familiar with the commercial language – maximization of profit and maximum gain. She completed her studies in fashion-and textilemanagement and worked with two major brands to gain a perspective into the fashion world and their supply chains.
A bewildering experience that roots her desire for a different approach on creation and production.
Jocelyn gets her former lecturer from university on board and they produce their first collection. Not in Bangladesh or Indonesia – in Germany, handmade in their studio in Hamburg.
Her team grows fast, so does the demand. After only 2 years Josea Surfwear is already in profit and her team counts 5 women.
The biggest brands in surfindustry, although producing for oceanlovers, are a significant part of the pollution of the ocean.
Wetsuits made from petroleum, surfboards composed of a petroleum based polyurethane wrapped in toxic polyester resin and endless loads of calculated overproduction are just common practice.
Josea Surfwear creations are based on recycled fishing nets. The cleaned fishing nets and retired carpets are processed into yarn that produces the colorful, vivid cloth for sports-bras, yoga leggings and bikinipanties. All packed and sent with sustainable materials.
A wide range of different designs with nature-inspired patterns leaves you yearning for white beaches and salty waves.
All bikini tops are named after famous winds, bikini bottoms after legendary waves.
„Mavericks“, an especially reliable bikinibottom, carries the name of one of the world’s most powerful wave.
„We’re running out of winds and waves for our constantly growing collection“,
says Jocelyn laughing.
It’s no coincidence that the women who present her collection are charismatic models, with toned muscles and rarely any make-up.
For Jocelyn personality, authenticity and individual ability is more important than superficial appearance.
We are not defined by the bikini we wear. What matters is the statement we send out with it. We are strong women with a special connection to the ocean. We offer much more than sexy curves and looking ‘adorable’. We are not objects to increase profit. We are passionated athletes in watersports, chasing our goals with dedication.
To perpetuate these values is part of the concept of Josea Surfwear.
„Our team and our teamriders are power women, that live our values. They love what they do and are willing to take risks. Every single one of them is meaningful in our movement.“
Fashion industry and society nourishes inferiority complexes to boost profits.
„Very beautiful and unique clients walk in our studio, yet so insecure about their body and themselves“,
observes Jocelyn. “It’s usually a lot easier for us to see the beauty in others, than recognizing the beauty in ourself. We want to encourage women to realize their own beauty and to focus on their own worth rather than chasing a deceptive idol. Being unique gives us superpower, being a mediocre copy of someone or something doesn’t give us anything.
And there can be just one original, the genuine us with all it’s features.”
After an order is set, the creating process starts – only on demand. This assures that there won’t be overproduction and allows to offer such a wide range that gives justice to individuality and individual bodies.
Thats how easy you weaken the myth of the ‘wrong’ body.
The majority of large industrial concerns in fashion, especially the ones producing in Bangladesh, India and China, are numbers-driven. With profit-maximization as a main focus, individuality drowns in the mass-orientated and short-termed decisions of these companies. Complexity and individuality means simply less profit for them.
You can buy a complete Josea Bikiniset for ca. 110 Euro, handmade in Germany and with a life-long guarantee.
The surfwear is successfully tested by professional athletes such like 18-year old Pro-Surfer & EU-Vicechampion Lilly von Treuenfels and German Pro-Surfer Merle Wedekind.
None of these athletes is getting paid for wearing Josea. “There’s absolutely no budget for influencer marketing”, Jocy says. People are wearing her surfwear just because they are fully satisfied. What a nice feedback – the nicest, actually.
You can find Josea Surfwear on Facebook.
