December 2009. 19 change rooms — FULL. 15 people waiting to go in. 20 customers browsing the racks for a bikini or one-piece swimsuit, getting ready for the Christmas break and summer holidays. Things were going swimmingly.
These were very INTERESTING TIMES
I didn’t know it then, but I was witnessing the peak. The years that followed would be like a rollercoaster, heading one way, and that was down.
My business was called “Daneechi” — my nickname. While studying fashion design I was constantly sketching swimwear, so my name was combined with Leonardo da Vinci, and voila! “Daneechi” was born.
As well as stocking over 40 brands, I also manufactured my own brand including custom made swimwear for the sizes and shapes that were sometimes forgotten by mainstream designers.
I had a swimwear factory in Leederville with a team of designers, patternmakers and machinists, as well as the retail store in Subiaco. I employed 40 staff.
Daneechi specialised in custom made swimwear suitable for all shapes and sizes. We made from size 8–28, B cup to G cup, Daneechi stocked it all.
