Maria-Alejandra Avellanda, creator of Mars Vida, brings smaller-cut swimwear with a South American flair to Northern Virginia.
It has only been a year since Maria-Alejandra Avellanda launched the Ashburn-based swimwear line Mars Vida, but it has already been established as the brand of choice for jet-setting locals. The styles of the suits are meant to be seen and admired, with an emphasis on smaller, more flattering cuts that are directly influenced by Avellanda’s Peruvian upbringing. “All of my swimwear I would buy in Peru because I don’t like the fit in the U.S. I used to feel self-conscious about wearing a smaller cut around my friends, but they always loved them, so [I realized smaller-cut suits] was a market that wasn’t here,” she says.
In order to get the cut and quality she desires, Avellanda manufacturers her swimwear solely in Peru. However, followers of the brand might notice a difference style-wise between the first collection and the new summer capsule that launched last month. While the debut line was used to test the market with existing cuts and prints to see what sold best, the new athleisure-inspired summer capsule was designed solely by Avellanda and produced by her Mars Vida manufacturer. “What I learned from last year is that a lot of people want to buy mix-and-match separates in solid colors,” she says.
Moving forward, Avellanda plans to continue to offer smaller collections throughout a season to keep her product fresh and offer variety for her customers, as well as launch a line of crochet cover-ups in collaboration with Kani Arts. The LA-based brand aims to provide jobs for the artisans of the mountainous city of Ayacucho in Peru, and a portion of the proceeds from the collaboration will go to the community. –Angela Bobo
1. “The pink top with the knotting in the front—that color [is inspired by] the markets in Peru. We were there over the summertime, and I chose it because it’s neon and fluorescent and shows well on anybody.”
2. “The blue bottom is a style of bikinis that I’ve loved forever. I think it’s the most flattering cut. All of our swimwear is made in South America, so it’s smaller-cut on the bottom. Not only is that cut more flattering, but the sides are scrunched and a little bit looser so they don’t cut you off or squeeze you.”
3. “The inspiration for this top came from a sports bra actually. I’ve been really into yoga lately, and I had one top that I kind of played off [for the bikini top design]. From the front it is sporty, but from the back it’s a fun, strappy design.”
4. “Instagram is our most popular form of social media. Basically all of our marketing is through social media right now. I was contacted by this company called Chat Books, and they sent [the booklet] to me. It has all of our most popular Instagram posts from 2014, which is awesome because it’s when we first launched the brand.”
5. “The beach bag is part of our new collection. Right now it’s still a concept idea. All of the bags are plastic lined, so you can still throw your phone or whatever in there without having to worry about it getting wet. The fabrics were from a fashion market in Peru, and I felt really inspired by the patterns and the colors.”
6. “The flamingo and the beach ball are from our summer preview party [in June] at the Embassy Row hotel. It was a way to showcase our new collection to press, get feedback from them and give a sneak peek before it went online.”
(July 2015)