Today we’d like to introduce you to Decker Sadowski and Katja Amirkhanian.
Hi Decker and Katja, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Decker: So, I forgot a bathing suit for a beach vacation and went into a store selling swimwear. For men only. So, naturally, I bought men’s swim trunks and really didn’t think a thing about it…Until I had the best day of my life. After wreaking havoc on the dance floor, swimming laps in the ocean, and making ten new friends, it hit me: I was free! Free to move however I wanted without worrying about what unexpected wardrobe malfunction would happen next. I was liberated from worries about a missed wax appointment and escaping tampon strings. I had POCKETS. I wondered, “Why are men the only ones wearing these? These need to be a staple in all womxn’s wardrobes.”
I approached my sister and she agreed that there was a hole in the current women’s swimwear market. There should be an option to wear stylish trunks, which would allow us to chase after her son, go paddleboarding, not worry about razor burn and live our best lives!
Katja: Around the time that Decker had approached me to start a swimwear line with her, I had resigned from my career as a corporate attorney in big law to be able to spend more time raising my son. Likely suffering from post-partum depression as well as an identity crisis, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to dive into my creative side and focus on a completely new venture while still having flexible hours to be with my son. Growing up as competitive athletes in Santa Barbara and now living in Los Angeles, making swimwear that enhanced our active lifestyle just made sense! And not to mention, as a new mom, chasing after my son in a bikini was getting old.
So, we are thrilled to level the playing field – bringing comfortable and chic bathing suit options to womxn for all ages and stages of their lives. Womxn want the convenience, comfort, and flexibility of trunks. We want to go to the beach and brunch and back again. And with that simple mission, La Trunk was born.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Decker: If someone has had a smooth road starting a company, we would love to meet them! It was important to us that our product had very high quality in both fabric and manufacturing.
Katja: My husband’s family lives in Milan, Italy, the fashion capitol of the world, and provided some helpful guidance. As an Italian, there can be no sacrifices made with respect to quality and my husband’s family friends happened to be just the right textile connections. They introduced us to fabric suppliers in Lake Como, where its history in textiles and silk is known around the world, and Bergamo, the first textile manufacturer to specialize in production, dyeing and finishing of woven fabrics. But yes, dealing with time changes and customs and duties issues has definitely been challenging.
Also, working with your younger sister is always fun because as the oldest, I’m always right.
Decker: Ha! I’ve just gotten good at getting her to think that my ideas are her ideas.
As you know, we’re big fans of La Trunk Swimwear. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Decker: La Trunk Swimwear is built around the foundation of how women live their lives and how swimwear can enhance that lifestyle.
Katja: So, why would women want to wear swim trunks?
Because there’s a lake at the top of your hike.
Because tampon strings.
Because you’re an athlete.
Because wiping out while learning to surf.
Because you didn’t have time for a wax.
Because you’re with your significant other’s mom…or dad…or brother…or sister.
Because pockets.
Because it’s 75 degrees and you’re going sailing, and then playing beach volleyball, and then going to a clam bake.
Because running after your kids in public in teeny bikini bottoms isn’t fun.
Because men shouldn’t be the only ones who don’t have to change between beaching and brunching and brunching and beaching.
The list goes on…
Decker: And we designed our top to be like a sports bra and bikini briefs to go under the trunks for anyone who wants to wear the trunks more as a cover-up.
Katja: Besides our attention to quality, we are also particularly proud that all of La Trunk Swimwear is manufactured locally, here in Los Angeles. We love supporting our Los Angeles community, and we are able to have personal connections with our manufacturers.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Katja: We are extremely lucky to have great friends and family that have supported and encouraged us to keep going even when the pandemic made it seem like we would never get La Trunk off the ground.
Decker: Also, living in Los Angeles means we are around like-minded creatives and entrepreneurs who inspire and motivate us.
Katja: I think our diverse educational background (mine as a lawyer and Decker’s as an engineer) complemented each other in ways we didn’t even think about when starting the brand. For example, switching from centimeters to inches and yards to meters goes right above my head, and all the legal documents that go with a company go over her head.
Decker: I still am in shock by the basic 7th grade math I do that you are impressed by while you are writing up full contracts!
Katja: We all have our strengths. Oh, and having mentors in the Italian fashion world is very lucky!
Decker: As far as bad luck, we had a long winding road to end up with our current production company that we love. First, we worked with a team whose quality wasn’t up to par. So, we found a new company we liked, but a few months later, the founder decided to wind up the company to work in-house for a big-name brand. She recommended another company, so we sent her all of our materials and patterns at the beginning of the pandemic.
Katja: We then didn’t hear from her for four months! We called, we emailed, we messaged her on LinkedIn. Stalked her on social media. It was almost an FBI mission! We finally got ahold of her, she sent us all of our materials, and now here we are!
Pricing:
- Trunks: $115
- Top: $65
- Brief: $45
- Set: $210
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.latrunkswimwear.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/latrunkswimwear
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/latrunkswim
Image Credits
Megan Sorel
