BENGALURU: A grand launch was what Aviva Bidapa had planned for the launch of the second collection of her swimwear line. But her plans took a completely different turn due to the Coronavirus outbreak. But taking things in her stride, the fashion designer is now promoting her new collection digitally, even getting a shoutout from actor Anushka Sharma on Instagram.
“Anushka has always been a gem of a person. I had just sent her a box containing some of my work as a gift. But she posted it on social media, and that meant so much to me. She didn’t have to do that but it was a sweet gesture from her side,” says Bidapa, the daughter of popular fashion consultant Prasad Bidapa.
Talking about her new collection, which was supposed to come out in March-end, she says it has been designed keeping every body type in mind. “If someone picks a swimwear that means they want to wear something easy and have a good time.
I wanted to come up with something that fulfilled those two primary requirements. That’s why some of my pieces have full sleeves or some of them are one-piece suits to keep the tummy area covered,” says Bidapa, whose swimwear line is called Aviva Swimwear. Having been exposed to the fashion industry at an early stage, Bidapa has worked with models with ‘perfect’ bodies, but she has no qualms in admitting that she too grew up with body image issues.
“While growing up, I was always a chubby kid and struggled with my body. I used to dread going to poolside parties. Now, I don’t want to be the one who tells people if their body is suitable for swimwear or not,” she says, adding that the best part of her collection is that people are free to pick the top and bottom of different sizes according to their body.
The venture was started by her father, but Bidapa says she took to it like fish to water, doing her own research and working with various designers to understand the basics of designing swimwear. “My father clearly told me that for this venture I am on my own. So I did my research by working with designers like Ajai Vir Singh, who runs his swimwear label called Pigeon Island in Sri Lanka and has been one of the main persons behind Colombo Fashion Week,” say Bidapa, who also wanted to bridge the gap between street-style brands and designer collections through he collection.
“I wanted the collection to have a designer feel and an affordable price,” she says, adding that the collection priced starting at Rs 1,000. Though the Covid-19 outbreak has become a spoiler for the launch, she is sure that people would not mind shopping now since “they are classic pieces which are a must-have in the wardrobe”. Bidapa was gearing up to launch her next collection in December this year, but due to the pandemic, she now hopes that it will be out in March 2021.