IT'S bold, versatile and equal parts simple and sexy to boot. It’s SOLTI Activewear, a multi-wear apparel for free-spirited women with an active lifestyle.
With designs bearing two color choices crafted in one piece, it not only gives girls the chance to have fun mixing and matching one’s ensemble but also lightens the load when it comes to packing for planned or impromptu trips to wherever the road leads.
Founded in August of this year and handmade in the shores of Cebu City, this was created by Kymberly Maitland-Smith who recalled thinking of the idea on a road trip to the beach with friends.
“I thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could just take my clothes off and jump into the sea? And wouldn’t it be nice to travel light and not have to pack so many bikinis?’ That’s when I thought about making clothes you can use for any occasion and making them with more than one color option,” she said.
SOLTI is a name that stemmed from two words from different languages, both conveying the same meaning. “It is a play on words. ‘Sol’ is the Spanish word for sun and ‘Soleil’ is the French word for sun. Since my designs are made for the sun, sea and sweat, I wanted to make it sound like ‘salty’: salty like the sea and perspiration,” Kymberly said.
Last Oct. 19 at the Ibiza Beach Club of Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu, SOLTI held its launch of the brand and first fashion show. The night featured its collections which guests had the opportunity to see up close.
Not only is the passion for fashion apparent in the designs, so is the effort in being environmentally conscious. Keeping the planet in mind, Kymberly shared that the designs are made with recycled materials. “SOLTI is different because it’s not just about fashion, it’s about helping the planet as well,” she shared. “All our fabrics are recycled from waste textiles in the Philippines; what was once trash to someone else is now something women can use every day. Reducing textile waste also helps reduce landfill space as well as water and air pollution in our country.”
It not only carries swimwear but also designs built for indoor and outdoor sports and any other type of activity under the sun which, according to Kymberly, are named after the islands of the Philippines.
“Apart from feeling sexy and comfortable, I want women to feel confident and trust that SOLTI enhances the best parts of a woman’s figure,” she said of the designs. “Women should be able to wear SOLTI underneath everyday and feel like they’re ready for anything that comes their way.”