Amanda Batula manifested her dream of having her own swimwear line, and now, she's sharing all the details on bringing her brand to life.
On August 14, the Summer House cast member revealed she is partnering with retailer South Moon Under to launch Amanda Batula Swim.
"I had quite a few brands and companies and people reach out, but something about South Moon [Under] stuck out," she told The Daily Dish on September 11. "I love the team. And they just were really excited for me and really believed in me...You want a team that has your back."
As she worked on designing her first collection with South Moon Under, Amanda was inspired to solve the challenges she has faced when looking for swimsuits that fit her properly.
"My struggle with finding bathing suits has been finding the right size," she said. "I’m naturally larger chested, and a lot of times they don’t fit around my ribcage, or they don’t feel like they’re supportive enough."
The entrepreneur noted that creating pieces that "[feel] supportive" is her main focus.
"It can fit more people [and you're still] feeling cute in it," she shared. "There are brands that are very supportive and adjustable, but they’re not as trendy or fun or cutesy, so I wanted to create a line of styles and designs and colorways that you see out there currently, but are focused on girls that may be slightly larger chested."
As for the "inspo" of her line, Amanda noted she did various "Pinterest dives" and collected images that "spoke" to her.
"I sort of ended up having this food theme, unintentionally, so this first drop is sort of cherry-focused. It gives that all-American summer sort of feel with reds and whites," she stated. "The vibe feels kind of old- school and classic. And then as we go forward there are other fruits and vegetables that have inspired the collection."
She added, laughing, "It's not necessarily the focus of them, but [...] I had my mind on food."
The first drop will have "three style tops, three style bottoms," as well as one in "two different colorways."
"As we continue our next drops we’ll have one-pieces and more styles," she continued. "So we’ll come out with more. But some of them are just taking longer to perfect."
When Does Amanda Batula Swim Launch?
Amanda noted the the "first drop" will happen in February 2025.
"We’re working on final fits," she shared. "I’m making sure that I feel really comfortable in everything, and I don’t want to rush anything. So we’re being really precise on that. And then we’ll have it, I hope, for February."
Amanda Batula Opens Up About How Ciara Miller Inspired Her to Launch Her Swim Line
Summer House fans have been eagerly awaiting Amanda's clothing line after watching her open up about her desire to start her own brand on Season 8, Episode 10 of the show.
During an emotional conversation about Amanda's career aspirations, Ciara Miller asked Amanda (who oversees creative at her husband Kyle Cooke's beverage company, Loverboy), "Do you feel like you have an identity outside of Kyle [Cooke] and Loverboy? Because I don't...You're so f-cking creative."
Ciara's words helped push Amanda to take the next step in launching her own business.
She told The Daily Dish, "I’ve said this so many times before, but hearing Ciara say out loud what I was thinking inside, like, 'Who am I outside of Kyle and Loverboy? and What do I want to do for myself?' It really clicked for me."
"I accomplished building [Loverboy] with Kyle, and now it was my turn to focus on something for me," she continued. "I battled a bit with my depression and anxiety over the fall, and once I got my medication right, I got this new outlook on life. I just really felt passionate about doing something. I felt an itch that I really needed to get something done."
Amanda added how happy she was to bring her vision to life, but she's taking her time to enjoy this element of her success before thinking of branching out.
"We’ll see how it goes," she said. "Maybe I’ll just continue focusing on swim and maybe some fun coverup stuff that goes with swim. Maybe I’ll expand in that world. But I think I have to take it one step at a time. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew."
