Jasmin Young is a summer loving, 22-year old Gold Coast girl who spends her evenings indulging her second passion. Working with business partner Chantal Umpelby, Jasmin has created Summer Addiction, introducing luxe swimwear, influenced by Brazilian and European designs, to Australian women.

Both work full time, Jasmin in communications and Chantal in hospitality. Yet, as the sun sets on the Gold Coast hinterland, Jasmin and Chantal retreat to their office at Jasmin’s home in Upper Coomera to begin work on another enterprise. The pair work from 4pm until late, or often into the early hours of the morning, building their bikini label, Summer Addiction. The design process at Summer Addiction is meticulous, ensuring that each piece is supportive, fits well, and is of a high quality. “We spend a lot of time perfecting our designs to ensure women fall in love with our pieces,” Jasmin said.

The duo launched their luxury swimwear line in Australia during December 2016. The line then expanded to the USA where it was met by eager shoppers. “America has now become our most in-demand country for swimwear orders. Our products seem to be an absolute hit over there. This means that while Australia heads into winter and we are focusing on our season designs, we also have to prepare for an influx of international orders,” Jasmin said.

For Jasmin, bringing the new line together has been a rollercoaster of trial and error. Entirely self-taught, both Jasmin and Chantal worked tirelessly for a year and a half, designing the bikinis, shaping their brand and organising manufacturers before their launch in December. “We did it all ourselves. From creating the website to designing the bikinis, the logo and everything in between.” Jasmin said.

The girls describe their partnership as collaborative, hands on and complementary. “We both have strengths and weaknesses. Chantal and I work on everything collaboratively and tweak each other’s designs and business ideas – its become our business model. We challenge each other, but we also complement each other extremely well. That’s why this partnership works,” Jasmin said. The partnership has allowed the pair to create designs that stay ahead of the competition. “We’ve taken a risk to design products and incorporate colours that are unique, timeless and distinctive in the marketplace. A lot of newer brands are focusing on loud prints and patterns, which fit a current trend, but quickly go out of style. The minimalistic approach we take at Summer Addiction, combined with high-quality materials in striking colours, makes our label a classic that never goes out of style.”

Chantal and Jasmin have been close friends since they met in high school nine years ago. From a young age, the pair dreamt of creating their own fashion line. “We always had a love for swimwear, but could never find the perfect bikini that was supportive, stylish and flattering in all the right places, so there began Summer Addiction Swimwear.” The next step for Jasmin is launching Summer Addictions next collection. “Our third collection […] will bring a number of exciting new designs and colours to our label. We are working on some really incredible and versatile designs, which we can’t wait to release. We are also working on a collection of resort-style accessories to diversify our label ever further.”