Jude Al-Khalil launched Bikyni, an online direct-to-consumer swimsuit business one year ago and already counts Jessica Alba as a fan. The former COO of cult-fashion brand Reformation, Al-Khalil was inspired to revamp the swimsuit shopping experience after realizing women dread shopping for bathing suits more than any other item of clothing.
“I was at a bachelorette party in Mexico and we were all laying out by the pool trading horror stories about swimsuit shopping,” Jude Al-Khalil said. “I realized swimwear was a category that had seen very little innovation and Bikyni was born.”
Bikyni offers classic styles in quality fabrics without an inflated price tag. Priced at $100 per bikini set, the collection encompasses seven bikini top styles, six bikini bottoms and two $95 one-piece swimsuit styles, all made in a variety of colors and prints. The collection is entirely made in Los Angeles from imported high quality Italian fabrics, and the website features an comprehensive fit guide.
Prior to launching Bikyni, Jude Al-Khalil had extensive experience working in the fashion industry as the COO of Reformation.
“While I was building Reformation’s e-commerce business, I received so much helpful advice from my entrepreneur friends on how to build a brand,” Al-Khalil said. “What I found was that sometimes what worked for them didn’t necessarily work so well for us. Of course, there are common learning and best practices, but I learned that you have to be discerning about the advice you receive and make sure to tailor it for your brand. With Bikyni, I’ve taken the time early on to learn about the Bikyni girl, understand what she wants and how to connect with her.”
Al-Khalil knew she was onto something with Bikyni when the company was selling out of styles and receiving excellent customer feedback.
“I’ll never forget the feeling when the first Bikyni sample was ready, flaws and all,” Al-Khalil said. “After working through those and launching, we quickly sold out of The Crop. It happened a second time. Then a third! While making a product we’re proud of and selling well is great, the most worthwhile part of it is hearing that our customers are actually happy with their suits – so much so that many have taken the time to reach out and thank me and the team for bringing a new element to the stagnant swimwear market. We have a board in the office dedicated to our favorites.”
The first year of business has lead to organic growth for Bikyni, the majority of customers shopping on their ecommerce site come from referrals and Instagram.
“Much of Bikyni’s growth has been organic,” Al-Khalil said. “Shopping for bikinis can be an exasperating search and finding a great one is something many women want to share. Our customers have proven to be our best advertisers, spreading the word. Women have also discovered us through our storytelling and visual content, primarily through Instagram and Pinterest, as well as some great press pieces.”
Al-Khalil has faced challenges with her startup, from wanting to do it all on her own, to learning to be adaptable to varying issues that have arisen.
“I like the control that comes with running my own business, but it turns out that I can’t do everything by myself, all the time–crazy, I know,” Al-Khalil said. “So, I’ve been finding a balance between what I need to hand off to my extraordinary team and where to keep my focus and attention. Another challenge has been learning how to react quickly to prevent problems from becoming huge fires. At any startup, you’re going to come across many moments when things don’t go as planned and it’s how you respond that will set you apart. In those times, you need to accept a situation and move on. Being adaptable has allowed us to provide the best possible product and service to our customers.”
Reformation is known for their sustainable and transparent supply chain, which is something that Al-Khalil made a focus for Bikyni as well.
“Most of our operations are housed under our own roof, so we can react quickly to customer feedback on everything from product design to our site experience,” Al-Khalil said. “The only part we don’t own, our factory, is a short drive away from our office. We’ve spent the time working with our factory to create a healthy flow, and have developed excellent relationships with our factory team since manufacturing is still very much a people-driven process. They partner with us to meet our product requirements and deadlines, but also pull through for us during unexpected situations. When our first collection sold out quicker than we had expected, we worked with our factory to turn around more units in time to continue selling these for the summer season.”
Jude Al-Khalil has big plans for the future of Bikyni, from recently launching a collaboration with Madewell, to expanding into other vacation-related categories in the future.
“My ultimate vision is for Bikyni to be the place where a woman comes for everything that she needs for her next escape,” Al-Khalil said. “Right now though, I’m excited about focusing on swimwear and perfecting the Bikyni before we take on other categories. I’ve seen so many brands try and do too much, too fast and often they end up moving away from their original vision in a way that doesn’t feel authentic. We’ve been listening to feedback from our customers and have some exciting ideas to expand our swimwear offering through new collections. We also just launched a collaboration with Madewell, have a few other partnerships in the works and are launching an amazing retail concept later this year.”
All images courtesy of Bikyni
