When Lisa Letarte Cabrinha began hunting for the perfect bikini in Maui, little did the Hawaiian native know that her journey would end in a successful career, spanning locales as disparate as sunny South Beach and posh St. Barths. The windsurfer-turned-designer decided to create swimwear functional for the tough sport of competitive windsurfing yet stylish enough to satiate her feminine side. “I’ve always been a sporty girl with a very girly-girl side to me,” Lisa says. “I wanted to wear bathing suits that reflect just that.”
With her roots firmly in Hawaii, Lisa mined the South Seas for inspiration, drawing from references as varied as they are unique. A scrap of old wallpaper, a local tattoo shop, exotic trips to Turkey and a vintage dress served as influences for her collection. Chockfull of tropical elements — seahorses, coral and jungle prints make a repeated appearance in the collection — the Letarte label is more than just your typical swimwear.
After being lauded by the likes of Vogue, Elle, In Style, Sports Illustrated (Heidi Klum sported a bikini in the swimsuit edition, natch), Lisa expanded from suits to caftans, hand-embroidered dresses and sporty tees and tank dresses. These days, celebrity devotes, like Cameron Diaz, Eva Longoria and Paris Hilton to name a few, aren’t the only ones drawn to Letarte. Kat Tantoco, who purchased the label for Rustan’s, shared, “So far everyone who’s seen Letarte has fallen in love with it.” Consider us smitten.
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Letarte is available at Rustan’s Department Stores.
