Quinnie Jenkins is redefining swimwear for women of all sizes. With the launch of her new swimwear line, Seaux Swim, Jenkins works to inspire women to feel beautiful and confident in her trendy, chic, and fashionable swimsuits.
Rolling out chatted with Jenkins about Seaux Swim and how she is redefining and transcending the swimwear industry for women of all shapes and sizes.
Tell me more about Seaux Swim. How did it start?
I was on a quest to find chic and fashionable swimsuits for an upcoming vacation. It was hard for me to find something that was still cute and made for curvy girls. I am very curvy and I found it hard for women to find anything that was over a size eight that was still cute, sexy, and that they would feel confident and beautiful in. That prompted me to start my own company and to create what I did not see out there in the market.
Who is your target demographic for your swimwear line?
My demographic is every woman. It’s for women size small to 3XL. I didn’t want it to be just for plus size women because that excluded women who weren’t plus size. I wanted every woman, regardless of size, to feel comfortable in the swimsuits that I created.
Is the swimwear only available for purchase online? If so, are you planning on partnering with local department stores to sell the swimsuits?
For right now, it can only be purchased online. My dream and goal would be to see Seaux Swim swimsuits in a major department store in Atlanta and in several boutiques across the country. I am not opposed to selling my swimsuits in stores. That’s my ultimate goal.
Do you have plans to create anything other than swimsuits or are you just focusing on swimwear?
For right now, I’m focused on swimwear. If I hear from my customers that they want me to do more, I will do that in a couple of years. However, for right now, I want to stay in the swimsuit market.
How do you continue to stay motivated with starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur?
I think it’s easy to stay motivated when it’s a passion. It is something that I really believe in and it’s a need that I filled for myself and for other women. When there is a passion behind what you’re doing and it’s something that affects you as well, it’s not that hard to stay motivated. I love hearing from my customers when they get their swimsuits and they love the high quality and how they fit. All of the amazing things that I wanted to see in a swimsuit brand, I did it. To see my customers so happy with the quality and its fit, it makes me happy. That’s what keeps me motivated too because I am serving a need. In the past week or so, there has been a lot of talk about the Victoria’s Secret leader saying that they didn’t want plus size women in their show. Last week, Pretty Little Things released a campaign showing how plus and regular size women look in the same outfit. It’s time for that to happen and I’m proud to say that when I did my shoot way before Pretty Little Thing, I did the same exact thing for my shoot. The world doesn’t know about it because we’re so small, but I always thought that plus size women should have the same options as women who are smaller. Why is the plus size section different? It’s blousy, big, and not form fitting. We don’t want that. Now it’s definitely the time for the conversation to be had. I’m definitely proud to be a part of this space.
What would be your advice to future entrepreneurs?
I would just say, go for it. Just do it. If you fail, that’s okay. At least you put forth the effort and tried. First, figure out what your passion is because if it’s your passion, you will pour your all into it. Do your research, go for it, and don’t let anything hold you back. If you have to start small, that’s fine, too. As long as you’re following your dreams, there isn’t anything that will hold you back.
