Chubbies, which has built a $100 million-plus business in menswear, is turning its sights to women.
As it celebrates its 15th anniversary, the Texas-based company will launch Cheekies, a women’s swimwear collection, for spring.
The irreverant Chubbies brand was founded in 2011 by four friends from Stanford University who rebelled against “shirtless men with rippling ab muscles, some standing outside of storefronts coating you with cologne.” They were also unhappy that their favorite piece of apparel, shorts, was getting longer and more complicated. So they created their own version of retro-inspired shorts and named their company Chubbies.
Now a division of Solo Brands, Rainer Castille, one of Chubbies’ founders, tasked Kit Garton, senior vice president, commercial, and a 17-year company veteran, to develop a women’s line. She worked for two years with an all-woman team within the company to design the collection.
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The debut Cheekies collection offers 10 mix-and-match swim silhouettes featuring solids and bold prints. Retail prices will range from $20 to $110. The goal, according to the company, is to eventually expand the offering into adjacent categories.
“Cheekies is about enjoying the moment you’re in, we want women to feel sexy and supported, confident and effortless,” Garton said. “In our conversations with women, the topic of swimwear was notoriously vulnerable. We designed Cheekies to take the pressure off.”
“This wasn’t about extending Chubbies into a new category; it was about building the right brand the right way,” Castillo added. “By empowering Kit and an all-women team to lead Cheekies from Day One, we created Cheekies with a distinct point of view for women, powered by Chubbies’ expertise in expressive prints and thoughtful design.”
The collection will be sold on a stand-alone Cheekies e-commerce site, as well as in Dick’s Sporting Goods. Beginning in April, it will also be available in select Chubbies stores.
The debut campaign for Cheekies was shot in Sayulita, Mexico, and features a real group of longtime friends coordinated by model Ingrid Medeiros enjoying a girls’ trip.
Turning to its men’s line, Chubbies said it plans to celebrate its anniversary this year by revisiting and recreating some of the viral moments that helped define the brand. The company will also create special product such as made-to-order pieces from its swim archive that allow fans to select and receive a custom-made trunk from the Chubbies vault.
