Sports Illustrated Features Swimsuit From Fredericton-Raised Business Owners
FREDERICTON- Two business owners from Fredericton are getting their brand noticed thanks to a feature in an iconic sports magazine.
Swimsuit business, Ashley + Alex Bikinis, had a suede swimsuit worn by model Myla Dalbesio in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
“It was always a massive goal of mine to be involved in [Sports Illustrated in] some way,” said co-creator of Ashley + Alex Bikinis, Ashley Paget.
Paget said she had emailed Sports Illustrated in the past about getting involved, but nothing ever came of it. When she and co-creator Alex Vautour were in Miami, they saw the editorial team of Sports Illustrated and decided to introduce themselves.
Paget and Vautour were both born in Fredericton and attended Fredericton universities.
The editors were interested in working with Ashley + Alex Bikinis and would send them themes and mood boards that a shoot would be based on.
They’d have a small amount of time to come up with possible designs and send them in with the hopes of being picked.
“When you create a normal collection that you’re selling, that can take a month,” Vautour said.
“But when you’re creating for Sports Illustrated, it happens so fast. It’s really, really exciting. And it gives you a chance to be way more creative.”
Paget and Vautour took the prairie theme and came up with the suede bikini design for the Sports Illustrated issue.
Paget started Nora’s Swimwear in 2016, but this year, she’s rebranded to be Ashley + Alex Bikinis. Vautour was involved with Nora’s Swimwear but didn’t become a co-creator of Nora’s until nearing the end.
Rather than be the product-facing business that Nora’s Swimwear was, Ashley + Alex Bikinis wants to be a resource first.
“I found that my number one talent was being able to pick up on trends before they became trends,” Paget said.
Ashley + Alex Bikinis will partner with other brands to talk about new campaigns and releases. They’ll also be doing limited releases of seasonal collections.
“Partially doing this because of the economic reasons and honestly the environmental reasons [too.] I got tired of having any excess waste,” Paget said.
“I’ll probably just release a few designs per season. These smaller collections are usually known as capsule collections.”
New swimsuits will be released each season themed around the major trends of the year.
Paget was also one of the founders of FYN Swim, a men’s swimwear company with Katie Carpenter, a few years back. Her and Carpenter parted ways because of their different interests.
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Paget grew up in Bermuda and has always felt connected to the water. But she’s also experienced insecurities and wanted to find a way to feel good about them.
“There’s women that have come to me and said, ‘you know, I never felt confident in a swimsuit until I wore yours.’ That’s ultimately the dream that I had set out in the beginning,” Paget said.
“That was always the goal.”
Vautour joined the team in an internship position to do some blogging and writing and she’s been working on and off with Paget ever since.
“I like working with Ashley because it doesn’t feel like work,” Vautour said.
“It just feels like two friends being super creative together.”
Paget is currently living in Ottawa, but this month, she is moving back to New Brunswick. Along with her big move coming up, her and Vautour will be launching the Ashley + Alex Bikinis website.
“I think it’ll be a really great place for people to be able to go interact with and learn from,” Paget said.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to inspire some other women out there to start their own online business too.