Exclusive Interview With Sueli Costa, Designer for Opera Swimwear

Opera Swimwear by Brazilian designer, Sueli Costa, is bringing a very sexy collection for Summer 2008. Having attracted a lot of attention from well-recognized magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Lucky and FHM, this brand stays on the minds and tanned bodies of international trendsetters from all over the world. Sueli Costa, whom already has more than two decades of experience in the fashion industry, gave us an exclusive interview while participating in the SwimShow 2008 in Miami.

N.S.: How was your career development as a designer until you received international acclaim?
 
S.C.: I started as model when I was a teenager. At the age of 24, when I decided to stop doing the runway, I opened a retail store in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro. That was the first of five stores that we were able to open during a period of just four years. As soon as I got my major in Fashion and Industrial Design, I decided to have our own manufacturing facilities to supply the market with our exclusive pieces.
 
N.S.: How about the expansion of your Opera Swimwear brand to new ones providing lingerie and jeans wear?
 
S.C.: Actually, the Opera brand has started in Italy in 1994, and it was exclusively women’s fine lingerie, very European style. Coming back to Miami, in 1996, I developed the Opera Swimwear and right after that, I opened a store that became famous by a different line of products. The Opera Boutique was a fashion point for models, celebrities, stylists and photographers. This was the starting point for our success in the U.S. The Opera South Beach boutique was opened with the same purpose of when I opened my first store in Rio: to offer design, quality and good taste on exclusive products. Our new brands for jeans and contemporary swimwear Bossa Beach and Opera Jeanswear, are developed with four hands, by myself and Gabriela Pires, my daughter and partner in our business who was born inside the “Fashion world”.
 
N.S.: How do you explain being so often featured in the most famous magazines in the U.S.? Could it be the mix of the Brazilian sensuality and the sophisticated touch from Sueli Costa?
 
S.C.: I believe the secret for recognition from international media (and it comes from a formula, that I would never quit using) that it is the combination of elegance, good taste and sensuality with a lot of sophistication.
 
N.S.: What was your inspiration for the new 2008 swimwear collection?
 
S.C.: Brazil’s rich colors from Nature, and Brazilian women’s beauty, sensuality and elegance.
 
Sueli Costa is very confident about the image of her brands in the international market, and in recognition of her talents, the media gives her much deserved attention. Her biggest accomplishment surely is the longevity in such a highly competitive market.