Words: Dr. Cybil Bonhomme | IG @ cybil.007; Photography: Michelle Cadari | IG @michellecadari
Creative Director: Luisa Acosta | IG @aracreativeideas; Wardrobe Styling: Sergio S | IG @thesergio.co
Make-up: Andrea Wolf | IG @andreawolf_creative; Hair: Diego Xavier | IG @hairdiego
Location: Loews Miami Beach Hotel | IG @loewsmiami
Talent: Juliette Porter | IG @julietteporter

Welcome to our exclusive interview with the founder of JMP The Label, where we dive deep into the origins, challenges, and visions of this unique swimwear brand. Inspired by her sun-drenched childhood in Florida, the founder shares how swimwear became a fundamental part of her life, leading her to create a brand that is not just a business but a heartfelt tribute to her roots and a celebration of comfort and style for women everywhere. From partnering with a seasoned industry expert to innovating with crochet swim fabrics, she outlines the journey of building a brand that stands out in the crowded market by listening to real women's needs and embracing inclusivity. Join us as we explore the waves this brand is making in the fashion world and the impact
it aims to have on body positivity and sustainability.

What inspired you to start JMP Swim? Growing up in Florida, I had always spent a lot of my time in the water and sun. Swimwear was a huge part of my DNA for this reason and I had a passion for finding the perfect bikinis, from style to fit and for each occasion. Creating this brand was essentially a love letter to my home and youth. I wanted to create fashionable, flattering pieces for women to feel their best and be comfortable, whether they are swimming, surfing or just lounging in the sun.
Can you tell us about the journey of creating and developing your swimwear brand? I had always wanted to create a swimwear line but never knew exactly where to start. What I did know was that I didn’t know enough about the industry to execute my vision properly, so my first step was to find others to guide me. I came across my now business partner, Jaymi, who has 30 years of experience in fashion and swimwear and knew immediately I wanted to work with her as well as learn from her. Jaymi also owns a factory in Bali, where we manufacture our swimwear, so it seemed as if everything I needed had perfectly aligned!
What sets JMP Swim apart from other swimwear brands in the market? I have a unique situation that I have a very intimate relationship with my following where they reach out to me and give me opinions on almost everything I am doing. When starting JMP, we were able to harness that feedback and advice and we heavily focus on listening to the needs of our customers, who are real women. We provide a wide range of styles and cuts for them based off their needs as mothers, college students, athletes, travelers. We knew that women needed to feel comfortable and supported so we focused on properly fitting underwire tops for women with larger breasts or versatile one pieces that can be worn many different ways for a perfect fit.

We also take the time to fit the styles on models of different sizes, a practice not all brands take the time for. Our sizes range from XS-XXXL, allowing a large range of women to feel included and represented by imagery on our website. Finally, we specialize in stretch swim crochet—which is crochet made out of swim fabric, as opposed to cotton yarn crochet, the industry norm. We are one of the few brands to create this stretchy, comfortable swimwear that allows you to get the swimsuit wet without it tearing or sagging.


How do you incorporate your personal style into the designs of JMP Swim? I have a fashion sense that varies depending on the occasion. Sometimes I’m feeling tropical and earthy and other times bright and striking. We like to create collections for women of all styles, whether she’s a Hawaiian surfer girl or at a Vegas pool party—options are endless! I never want to feel boxed into one style personally so I feel that JMP really shows that, we have something for every fashion sense on our site.
Could you share some insights into your design process and the materials you use for JMP Swim? We start our process thinking about the needs of our customers and the month the collection will come out in. From there we try to find or develop a unique texture, crochet color, or interesting print that will draw the attention of potential buyers and we work to find ways to use recycled or up cycled yarns to achieve our look. We then discuss the merchandising of styles because we know we have to have some of our most loved styles represented but we are always trying to add something new to the mix to keep it fresh and to find out if there is a new style that people will love.
What challenges did you face while establishing JMP Swim, and how did you overcome them? Many of the challenges we faced were related to learning the most efficient ways to operate as well as learning our customers. How many units to bring in, how much to spend on certain things and figuring out what styles did best.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends in swimwear fashion, and how does this influence your designs? The design process has changed as we have grown, we now look at what what colors, styles, and prints have worked in the past as inspiration. We follow trend reports and are always out spotting interesting pieces of clothing, texture or art whenever we travel. Of course we love and admire many other brands but we know that we have to stay true to our brand DNA and not chase other trends.
What is your vision for the future of JMP Swim? We want to be a brand that is widely recognized, in many boutiques and retailers, and known for our flattering silhouettes, size inclusivity and perfect fit. Our goal is to utilize our swimwear line to reach many women and further the discussion about body positivity and self love. We believe that we have to support our clients emotionally as well by promoting our mission of inclusivity.

How do you ensure sustainability and ethical practices within your brand's production processes? We source recycled yarn fabrics and we use upcycled fabrics consistently, meaning we try to use fabrics that are premade and were never used. We partner to have the leftover fabric from production scraps, the cuttings that are usually left on the floor after the swimwear is cut out, donated to the local villages in Bali where they make dolls, blankets and items that they can sell to support their villages. All of our suits are shipped in reusable wet bags and compostable shipping mailers.
Employees in our factory in Bali are given full healthcare, pensions and have the same work standard rights as United States labor practices. Our factory is a small boutique factory that has 85% female work force and all female managers. Our signature JMP crochet is handmade by local women in Bali that are artisans that run their own businesses. We are always looking for ways to become more sustainable and conscious.
How do you engage with your audience and customers, and what role does their feedback play in shaping your brand? We are constantly in conversation with our JMP customer on social media, listening to what she likes as well as what she needs and simply can’t find. We do focus groups often relating to sizing and fit to make sure we get it perfect. Now we are going into wholesale so it’s been fun for buyers and customers to see our product in person and share their thoughts! We do pop up sales so that we can actually see the suits on our customers and provide them with fit help. Nothing is better than an in person compliment about the suits we’ve worked so hard to perfect.

My personal audience is so vocal about everything we do at JMP and I often ask their opinion on prints, fabrics, colors to get their feedback. Sometimes, it can be challenging to always do each thing that is asked for because we have minimums or production constraints, but we do try to test out the many ideas people have sent to us!
Can you share any memorable moments or milestones in the journey of building JMP Swim? We’ve had some incredible milestones that we are incredibly grateful for. Our first Miami Swim Week show in 2022 was unforgettable as well as seeing models in our bikinis in Sports Illustrated. I think the simple moments of seeing real women in the world wearing JMP has been so special to me. Knowing that people are buying JMP because they genuinely love the quality and fit has been so rewarding for me.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to venture into the fashion industry, particularly in swimwear? The first thing I would recommend is to surround yourself with experts and learn from others who have been in the industry. Know what you don’t know and find the right people to help you. I think a lot more goes into swim design, especially growing a business, then some may think. Specifically, with swimwear, having a plan of how you will ride the seasonality of the business is essential and aligning with great manufacturing is one of the most important elements. It’s important to understand that the fun design part of the business is really only about 10% of the journey and that your days will be filled up with management, operations, marketing, logistics and so much more! Entrepreneurship is not an easy road, but it is so fulfilling to have real women love your brand and to watch it grow.
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