The Story Behind Scilly Swim Club

When our friend Mel visited us on St Martin’s in July'23, the seed of an idea was born when she was enjoying dips in the Scilly sea. “Why don’t we do swimwear?...”

With a love of nature close to our hearts, it would have to be something aligned with our values. 

The sea is central to Scilly. It’s the perfect place to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of wild swimming. Scilly Billy developing a swimwear range was the natural next step. 

We mulled it over for a few months, researching possible avenues. 

Then in November, whilst I was visiting my Mum in New Zealand, one of her favourite current affairs programmes was on TV. They were interviewing a very clever Kiwi designer, Emma La Rocca, who was making swimwear with fabric made from discarded fishing nets, whilst creating zero waste! Nothing goes to landfill, nothing leaves her studio, every scrap of fabric is used. 

“This is it! Just what I’ve been looking for!” 

I reached out to Emma, and we agreed to work on a collaboration to create zero waste swimwear, featuring Scilly inspired artwork. 

We wanted the designs to reflect the natural beauty of the Isles of Scilly, so you feel like you’re wearing a piece of art. We just needed the right artist…   

Maxine Bryher

Scilly Billy had worked with local artist Maxine Bryher previously, on our Blooming Scilly design, as part of our range which supports The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. 

Max’s love of nature and eco-friendly values made her the perfect fit. 

Raised on Scilly, Max’s love of the islands is evident in her artwork. She pours inspiration from Scillonian life into each piece, bringing into play the surrounding beauty and harmony of nature.

When we asked Max if she’d like to be involved in designing zero waste swimwear, it was an immediate and excited “Yes!”. 

So we set about creating a starter collection of swimwear fabric designs, that would provide swimmers with ‘wearable art’.  Joyful, fun and vibrant pieces that evoke a feeling of connection with nature and Scilly. The Scilly Swim Club was born.

Emma La Rocca

Emma is the founder of Emroce, the only zero waste swimwear brand in the world, cutting all items from zero waste patterns so no fabric is discarded.  

The cutting patterns are designed to fit together perfectly like a puzzle - a technique inspired by the zero waste patterns of Japanese Kimono.

Her swimwear styles are designed to stay on! To encourage women to have fearless fun in the water, and to cultivate a wider appreciation and respect for our rivers, lakes and oceans.

Emma was consulted along the way of our fabric design process, and was a great source of knowledge and experience. She was really excited to work with the vibrant colours and artwork printed on our material. Our Gaia design is her personal favourite! 

Of her work, Emma says, “We create inspirational designs to encourage change, as the current production and consumption models are too damaging to our health and our planet. 

“All designs are stripped to their basic necessities and our efforts are focused on achieving the perfect fit and creating a completely functional and zero waste garment. 

“We know that the power for change is in the hands of the consumer. Through the things we buy, we decide who, what, where, when and how our products are made. With every purchase you make, you are investing in the companies that you want to keep in this world. Please consume wisely.”

Stephanie Perkins

Steph is the founder of Scilly Billy, and has a great love for animals and nature. Developing a swimwear range that considers the natural world around us all, and our impact on it, has been a really rewarding experience.

"I've loved the creative process of working with Emma and Max. Bringing together the beauty of the islands and making swimwear that allows people to immerse themselves in the nature that inspired it, just makes sense to me.
Zero-waste, minimal impact on the environment, and wearable art created in Scilly. I hope you love it as much as we do.

"Big thanks to the wonderful women of St Martin's, who made these beautiful images possible and a photoshoot that was so much fun!"

Our swimwear is about connecting with joy, honouring and connecting with nature, life’s simple pleasures, and that feeling of lightness, playfulness and invigoration we all get from being immersed in the water - especially in the Scilly sea. It’s zingy! 

As far as we know there is no other zero-waste swimwear in the world. Emma is working on teaching zero-waste design methods and business models to large fast fashion companies. It saves on average 40% of fabric from being sent to landfill.

This is significant, as fashion and textile supply chains are the third most polluting industry on the planet, after food and construction. By working with Emma we’re strengthening her zero-waste voice and supporting her aim of creating a real change in the fashion industry. 

The fabric we use is a high quality Italian fabric made from ECONYL® yarn, which has a true waste-to-wear journey. It’s made from nylon waste, including discarded fishing nets, which would otherwise pollute the Earth and harm wildlife. ECONYL® can be recycled, recreated, and remoulded again and again. 

The ghost fishing gear that goes into making ECONYL® is collected through the Healthy Seas initiative. Its purpose is to clear the oceans and seas of an estimated and growing 640,000 tons of discarded fishing nets, responsible for the needless death of whales, turtles, birds and other marine mammals.

ECONYL® yarn creates a very comfortable and soft fabric, with a very luxurious feel.

We’re excited for customers to experience these first pieces, and look forward to hearing their feedback as we have ideas and designs to explore for the future. 

We would love to grow the range to include swimwear for all, including all ages and genders. We’re hoping the success of this first collection will feed into that development, and allow us to bring those ideas to fruition for all to enjoy.