Through its inclusive approach to branding, Sheila is reclaiming a narrative for women in a hyper-competitive fashion vertical. Reclaiming the narrative  The brand’s founder is on a mission to help women feel comfortable and confident in their swimwear and in the process she also reclaimed an Australian colloquial term that women are often referred to as: Sheila. “Then it really became about reclaiming what it means to be a Sheila, making it powerful,” stated Barrins. “It was attractive to me that we could pursue a strong brand voice and a creative direction to back it up – we could have fun with it,” she added. Barrins knew the name would resonate with the Australian market, or at least give them pause, while the international market was used to female names in fashion with household names like Zara and Celine. Sheila is now a name, a brand and a movement that inspires women to live in the moment with its flattering swimwear solutions. “I think the genesis of the story is that I was looking for stylish swim shorts for myself – I wanted something that offered the versatility that I could wear for a range of activities,” said Barrins, “whether that be riding my bike to the local pool and having a swim with my kids, or hiking and then jumping into a lake or going out to brunch and then swimming without needing to change. Due to my own insecurities and not wanting to wear standard swimsuits, I was kind of, I say, living on the sidelines.” Barrins was ready and willing to spend a lot of money on a luxury swim short that met her needs but when the swim market came up short she knew she had a winning idea.  “Where I could find swim shorts, the options that were available were not at all fashion forward – think daggy board shorts – and they were only really available in a narrow range of sizes,” Barrins elaborated. No lip service  Barrins knew from the outset that Sheila was going to be a brand that was size-inclusive with models that female shoppers could closely identify with. Since day one, Sheila has been size-inclusive, designing swim shorts for XS to 2XL. “I didn’t want to just pay lip service to diversity, I believe strongly in living our values,” Barrins stated. As her pre-launch instincts suggested, Sheila’s top-selling size is the large, followed by the medium and extra-large. “I feel like we have made the right choice to be size inclusive, and I think we’ve started in the right place because we’re covering where most people are buying,” Barrins confirmed. When asked if the added costs of having an inclusive size range were ever a deterrent for Sheila, an excuse used frequently by fashion brands, Barrins said she hasn’t found it to be the case. “I think that if there are established brands that have the backing and have finances, this is not at all hard. You get a designer, you scale up your sizes, and you make a choice like, ‘how wide do you want to go?’,” shared Barrins. “It wasn’t an issue in my design process. It wasn’t an issue in my manufacturing process.” But the financial constraints of getting an emerging fashion brand off the ground are not lost on Barrins; every investment she makes in the business is backed by both data and her gut. “I think financial constraints are an ongoing issue for independent businesses, especially in the current climate, and I don’t think customers necessarily understand what it takes to run a business and the expense that goes into making ethical choices,” explained Barrins. “To run that business, to buy premium fabric that is recycled, to not buy in huge fast fashion quantities, the cost of marketing, the cost of producing something that is truly quality and will last a lifetime.” Ethical and small slow-fashion brands like Sheila are constantly at risk of being out-paced and out-priced by their fast-fashion competition. A swimsuit competition  “I was a few months out from launching, and Kim Kardashian launched her Skims swimwear range and she had a bunch of swim shorts in that range,” Barrins shared. “I kind of let out a sigh, I thought ‘Oh, Kim Kardashian got there before me’, but actually, then I realised that that was an opportunity because she was helping to make swim shorts trendy – she was making them socially acceptable,” she continued. Despite swimwear being a competitive category, Clare remains optimistic about Sheila’s place in the market as she looks towards new niches where she can offer fashion-forward pieces. “I have been listening to customer feedback, and also, as I mentioned, following my own intuition on what comes next – there’s going to be something for everyone,” said Barrins. “I’d really like to move into that modest swimwear market because I think there’s a real opportunity in Australia to develop more skin coverage and more sun protection.” A year on since the brand’s launch and Sheila remains focussed on its customer-first approach by providing women with swimwear options that get them off the sidelines and into the moment. “It’s about people having new experiences because they’re feeling empowered to live in the moment and not be thinking about their self-consciousness,” concluded Barrins.