Wednesday marks the premiere of an exclusive swimwear line by Nicole Williams English, a model, businesswoman, mother, and designer, in association with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.
“My fondest dream and professional aspiration was to be a Sports Illustrated rookie; I longed for this opportunity my entire career. Williams English, one of this year’s rookies, told OZIFOX that being a swimwear model and living in New York had been her greatest ambition for more than 20 years. She has been running her own exclusive swimsuit company since 2017, and she has released four collections in discrete, limited drops.
Williams English (who was pregnant at the time) suggested the idea of making her own swimsuit to be worn on the Miami Swim Week catwalk last July, and Sports Illustrated accepted it. This came about after Williams English received the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue rookie news.
“I started working on a suit with only four days to complete it. I actually took an old pattern from my first collection, altered it, and added the rookie logo before designing the entire suit. Everyone was just so obsessed with it, and it was the most popular suit from my first collection, so I brought it back in gold metallic mesh with black letters that said “rookie” across the front. That is where it all began, according to Williams English, who also stated that she was pregnant on the runway (and was later captured on camera for the 2023 editorial while seven months pregnant).
Williams English created a collaboration between Nia Lynn and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, which debuts on the same day as the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, after the event, when the Sports Illustrated staff adored her debut suit.
This is undoubtedly a dream come true for me to be able to combine my desired job path with my love for design, so it’s been a real pinch-me moment, she added.
“I just wanted to have completely new designs for this capsule. Williams English cited Sports Illustrated magazines as her inspiration for the collection’s one-piece swimsuits, cutout and gold hardware accents, and custom prints. “I knew that I wanted to have a lot of sexy suits, because when you open the Sports Illustrated magazines — the suits that the girls have on always have a ‘wow’ factor about them,” Williams English said. The 12-piece collaboration has a variety of string bikinis, a G-string, and strapless bandeaus in classic swimwear and new seersucker fabrications, as well as three metallic maillots with the Sports Illustrated emblem that are reminiscent of vintage Body Glove clothing.
Shoppers may purchase the collection, which has prices ranging from $72 to $152, just on the swimsuit company’s website and Instagram.
