The Sybarite spoke to Georgia Thompson, founder and Creative Director of luxury swimwear and resortwear brand, Evarae. We spoke to the businesswoman about how she started her company, advice for future entrepreneurs and her inspirations behind the SS17 collection.
After 10 years of working for different companies, Georgia Thompson bit the bullet and decided to create Evarae - a luxury resort wear brand where she had the freedom to be creative once again and be able to travel the world whilst working.
The move into swimwear felt natural for Georgia, as she’d spent summers as a child on board her father's boat called Evarae - the namesake for her brand - as well as travelling the world with her stepfather, helping him hunt for inspiration for his yacht company. The entrepreneur tells us that due to her “childhood spent by the sea travelling, resort and swimwear has always felt natural.”
As a child, Thompson had an au pair who studied at the esteemed St Martin’s Fashion College, and it was then, after watching her sit and sketch, that she decided designing was what she wanted to do in the future years.
Evarae’s SS17 range features a line of pieces that instantly become classics - from two-piece bikinis to one-pieces, Georgia tells us that her favourite piece is the ‘Seona One Piece’ in a gorgeous dark blue silky Italian fabric.
Whilst it’s a classic, the one piece is also flattering for all body types whilst still be glamorous and sexy - a transitional piece that can take the wearer from the poolside to table.
As well as swimwear, there are sophisticated kaftans, long flowing dresses and palazzo pants that add a touch of glamour to any outfit, no matter where in the world they are worn. It is evident that Georgia pushed the fashion boundaries with this collection, as she made a conscious effort to add sophisticated to metalwear to many of the pieces, but also ensuring that the metal is heat and water resistant to avoid wear and to keep the pieces looking as original and iconic for as long as possible.
The Paradiso range is well and truly stand out - as it takes inspiration from Georgia’s past travelling adventures which was apparent on the mood boards for the collection as it came from a scarf she found whilst travelling in St Lucia and features exotic flowers and hummingbirds, which is then reflected in not only the prints in the collection but the flamingo-esque corals and azure blues that really bring the pieces together.
Despite all of this, if you meet Georgia whilst she is in London, you will notice that her style is quite understated with lots of neutral and black tones, whilst choosing to make statements with select pieces and accessories, perhaps subconsciously she dresses to fit her location, as when she is travelling the world and in places such as Cape Town and the far east, her style changes to represent this and is often seen flaunting brighter prints and more daring textures, whilst flaunting more skin than you can get away with in the London climate.
This then becomes obvious when she names Talitha Getty as her fashion inspiration, mainly for her mixture of bohemian and elegance, as well as the fact that she has never stopped travelling and seeing the world - something which is imperative to not only Georgia but to Everae as a brand.
All of the Everae swimwear line is hand-crafted in Italy using only the best Italian and French materials, with the silk pieces being produced and printed in the iconic and glamorous Lake Como, as well as the embroidering all being down by hand in India, ensuring each piece is unique and has its own sense of personality.
When asked if she had any advice for budding entrepreneurs like she once was, Georgia claims that ‘there is never the right time to start a business’ you just have to take the plunge and learn as you go, making sure that you keep good working relations with everyone you come across, whilst it is also ‘to be surrounded by creative, inspiring, like-minded people and don’t be afraid to take calculated risks.’
The next step for Evarae, after launching the SS18 collection which is according to Georgia ‘ is inspired by Capri and the South of France’ is to eventually develop into a 360-degree luxury resort lifestyle brand and expanding into travel accessories, footwear and bags whilst always remaining true to the brand's original identity
The launch of the new ss18 collection is happening at a summer party in July at Embassy Gardens, where the line will be unveiled for the first time to press, guests and loyal brand supporters.
