Rotherham-based swimwear brand started in bedroom goes global

Working as a model, Meg Taylor-Lillie was made to feel inadequate. She suffers from scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, and was even refused payment because of the condition.

Her experiences made her relate to women who don't fit in with typical standards of beauty, and she started thinking about creating products for them.

“I wanted to make something where everyone actually looks like a real person,” she said.

“I love swimwear and I love seeing women feel confident but I hate how the industry has made so many of us feel like we are not bikini ready.”

Meg, who is from Maltby in Rotherham, also wanted to create a brand that was environmentally friendly, taking a different approach to many fast fashion companies selling products made from plastics.

She said: “The initial idea behind the business was to understand problems that women have that can be solved in a sustainable way.

“Aside from fast-fashion fabrics stretching out and piling pretty quickly, they also have devastating consequences on our planet. I want to encourage women to invest in swimwear that will last a lifetime.”

After a few years Meg quit modelling and began work as an estate agent. In lockdown during the pandemic she had the time to make her idea a reality, sketching ideas for swimwear in her bedroom while saving up money.

She did research online before finding a company in Bali that could produce the designs ethically, paying its workers four times the living wage, with free healthcare for the employees and education for their children.

The company manufactures her products from a sustainable Italian fabric called Carvico Vita, made using recycled landfill waste, ocean plastic and discarded fishing nets.

The material is ultra-chlorine, UV, sun cream and oil resistant and has muscle fit technology, so garments do not lose their shape when wet.

Her range is advertised using diverse models with a range of body types in photographs that are not airbrushed.

“I had three models and they were all different, with different body types and ethnicities, so everyone could see a bit of themselves in them,” she said.

She also markets the brand using influencers and with her own social media pages, a different approach to that of large corporate fashion brands.

She said: “A lot of the big swimwear brands have advertisements in magazines and on billboards but I want to keep it personable.

“I do a lot of TikTok videos where I talk about the products so people know who they’re buying from and what they’re getting, making it different from the marketing of big commercial businesses.”

Meg admits that Gaia Woman is not the first sustainable swimwear brand for women, but says hers is distinct in its quality and the fact it is aimed at younger women, calling it more “modern” and “fun”.

She has big plans for the business that started in her bedroom.

“Ultimately, I want to grow the business to a point where we can physically contribute to larger environmental projects,” she said.

Meg’s website states: “The sole purpose of Gaia Woman is to make women feel their best without hurting Mother Nature herself.”

Find out more at: https://gaiawoman.co.uk/