Two weeks ago I grabbed 3 of my girlfriends- Charlene, Kalina and Sierra, for a major bikini-mission with the help of Wanjie (Photographer), Seemin (Henna Artist) & Terence (Creative Direction).

I was motivated by Wes Anderson's style of cinematography and wanted to do something unique and meaningful, letting go of my own persistence in surf-branding Haikini. 

With lots of teamwork, laughter, sweat, (no tears) and sunburn, Haikini presents:

How can a bikini shoot be meaningful?

Prior to Haikini's establishment, I've had many conversations about the profitability of a swimwear brand in Singapore. Some of the concerns people had were:

• We don't really have a beach culture in SG, the market's not so big as compared to (other fashion categories)
• Got so many swimwear brands already, you can meh?

But what troubled me most was hearing:

"Girls aren't confident enough because they think they gotta look a certain way,
if not (guys) will judge them for showing their bodies."

That's not okay. However, I don't blame these girls for thinking this way. For the longest time, we've been continuously fed with unrealistic body ideals that heavily influence our self-perception.

Yes, sex sells. Majority of swimwear and lingerie brands believe that the best way to sell is one that objectifies the female body. After all, that is proven to be the fastest way to achieve virality, and virality is the yardstick of present-day success for many.

Nevertheless, with campaigns like #AerieREAL opening the floor for discussions about alternative perspectives in the swimwear and lingerie industry, we're slowly moving away from the overemphasis of "body goals" and into space where art and meaning triumph.