Tyler McGillivary is diving into new waters, literally. The Brooklyn-based designer known for sculptural whimsy and surrealist nostalgia has just unveiled her first swimwear collection, and it’s as dreamy, referential, and emotionally intuitive as we’d expect.
McGillivary’s debut capsule takes the codes of corsetry, vintage lingerie, and botanical romanticism and submerges them, resulting in a tightly edited offering that feels both historically evocative and distinctly contemporary. This is not swimwear chasing trends or attempting to disappear on the body, rather, the collection demands to be seen.
Take the Vivian One Piece, for instance: paneled in black and powder blue with corset-like bust detailing, it nods to both the 18th-century stays and the soft armour of early 2000s Victoria’s Secret. Then there’s the Sweetheart Bikini Set, where heart motifs flirt with erotic kitsch—somewhere between Betty Boop and MySpace-era seduction. And the standout Odessa Set is printed in McGillivary’s signature oversized pansy motif, as if blown up from a dream-sequence floral still, its saturated pinks and yolk yellows pulsing with heat.
The silhouettes are designed to move, across water, bodies, and memories. “Pieces that transform with you,” the brand says, and it’s true: there’s an emotional elasticity here that mirrors the physical. Swimwear as an extension of inner weather, of metamorphosis, and the sorts of paysage that beckon one to swim and sunbathe.
Since founding her label in 2018, McGillivary has steadily built a cult following off the strength of her singular, image-forward vocabulary. With this launch, she enters a new category not just in product, but in possibility, taking contemporary basics and imbuing them with a distinctive design-forward, referential ethos.
The collection is available now at tylermcgillivary.com.
Cody Rooney is the Editor in Chief and senior contributor at LIMINUL.
He is a PhD candidate, digital content specialist, writer, editor, multi-media artist, and photographer.