in Contests, Designers + Brands, Sustainable Fashion

Nikki Sayavanh for nikster™ Wins the Best Eco-creative Swimwear Designer Poll

by Delia Montgomery March 15, 2009, 12:10 am 236 Views 14 Comments

The contest winner of Chic Eco’s 2009 swimwear designer poll is Nikki Sayavanh for Nikster LLC. Her bikinis, all made with sustainable materials, are inspired by nature and healthy living. The company motto is “the sexier side of green” for swimwear collections that are beyond traditional bikinis.

Nikki offers genuine Brazilian bikinis and eco-bikinis with an exotic flair. Some of her designs are carefully hand-finished through macrame stitching, embroidered beads or hand-painting. The accessories are made with coconuts, bamboo, shells, pearls, stones, wood, recycled metals, and other hand-selected tropical elements from around the globe. Manufacturing the eco-bikini line in the U.S. reduces her company’s carbon footprint. Even the packaging is recycled.

Her fabric choices are bamboo, soy and organic cotton blended with spandex. Very soft, stretchable, breathable and durable are important material characteristics sought for her swimwear. The focus is sustainability and low impact in each creation.

Nikki created her nikster™ brand with a passionate goal. That was to give back to the environment and society. She wanted her clients to look glamorous and sexy while being socially conscious women. Nikki impressively incorporated her vision into an eclectic collection made from love, trust and respect to benefit our planet and the human race.

Nikki says that at Nikster, a woman’s body is her temple and an expression of inner beauty and strength. Such consciousness shines through and revitalizes the wearer’s appearance. Most important, the wearer feels comfort and tranquility in her swimwear.

Last year Nikki participated in green fashion shows with positive recognition from TreeHugger, Alternative Consumer, Eco Fashion World, and more. She established a charitable system of donations from portions of sales proceeds. All recipients are like-minded charities and organizations.

Nikster is a seasoned retailer, now opening the doors to shopkeepers everywhere. Wholesale queries are encouraged with customized service. That means terms are established on per basis needs because no two stores are identical. I think that also spells friendly competition management.

Let us all congratulate Nikki, a terrific and rare designer who fills the high demand for sustainably-made women’s fashionable swimsuits!

Written by Delia Montgomery

I am Delia, d/b/a Chic Eco on www.ChicEco.com, and established myself as an eco fashion guru by learning "who makes what in the world of environmental fashion and design."

Enjoy reading some of my freelance writing about environmental design, fashion and art -- from both consumer and supplier perspectives. You may notice I focus most on individual eco designers, movers and shakers.

From sustainable fashion apparel to paint and flooring, discoveries are a rush. I get my kicks this way. I also offer sales representation of earth-friendly designed products for wholesale buyers. Retailers may take advantage of my services with factory-direct pricing. Spend less time sourcing and prevent green-washed purchases!

My other forte is connecting suppliers with business-to-business tools. Aspects of my business vary with consulting services while I'm proud to be the aide that embraces unique and innovative gigs.

I'm originally a Kentucky Blue Grass gal who relocated to Maui early 2006 and the tropical Puna District of Big Island, Hawaii late 2007. Walk the talk is my motto here.

Early 2009 I constructed a yurt home office in a semi-urban setting on a tiny lot. My water comes from the sky, contained in a catchment that's not likely to dry in this rain forest. The electric is designed for solar conversion. I grow about 30% of my food organically, compost, and recycle to the hilt. Permaculture with a full eco system is my gardening style.

In fact, gardening is my ultimate joy. I seek gigs like design, weeding and planting between other jobs. My love is Hawai'i which has more climate zones than any state. There are frequent earthquakes here, typically under a 3.0 magnitude, and I happen to dig the vibrations. It's a wonderful simple life in paradise. As I grow older and wiser, I become more and more grateful.