For Tiffe Fermaint, time is of the essence. The Phoenix designer melds futurism with a retro bombshell aesthetic in her new swimwear collection, TF Swim, a collaborative line that she'll launch with Roosevelt Row boutique Nostra Style House.
Her 2013 line has an unabashedly techie feel, with hard edges and sleek, metallic fabrics. For this project, she says she wanted to create a line that was more glamorous and pretty.
"I knew that with swimwear I could easily bring a sexy definition to my interest in futuristic design," she says. Thus, her brand of pool-ready retro-futurism took shape.
See also: Tiffe Fermaint Releases 2013 Collection at Venue Scottsdale Black N Blue Rockstar Clothing & Accessories Opens on Fifth Street in Downtown Phoenix
That temporal combination is easy to see in Fermaint's collection of women's mix-and-match bikinis ($30 per piece) and one-piece swimsuits ($65). The result is a sort-of robo-pinup look that reminds us of the work of Japanese illustrator Hajime Soyarama, whose NSFW art you can peep over at Juxtapoz.
"I mixed retro swim silhouettes like high-waisted bottoms with mesh, bright colors, pebble print, and, my all-time favorite, hologram metallic Lycra," she says.
"During the design process I ran sketches by Angelica [Gonzalez], the owner of Nostra. She helped me choose the designs that I went on to produce."
TF Swim includes three styles of swimsuit in varying colors, cuts, and prints. The line will be sold exclusively at downtown Phoenix shop Nostra Style House starting Friday, May 31.
And fans of the designer will be happy to learn that going forward Fermaint intends to produce a new line of swimwear annually.
But that's not all.
"Right now at this moment I am 36 weeks pregnant," she says when we ask what else she has in the works project-wise. "I've [been] trying to thin out my schedule in anticipation for our little arrival. But also being on the verge of giving birth has inspired me to keep creating. A baby and kids line has been designed, and although I have no launch date, I hope it can be a reality by next year."
Until then, she plans to continue expanding her 2013 collection and get it into stores stateside and overseas.
Sounds to us like time's on her side.
