UNDERSTAND

By fusing art, fashion and swimwear, We Are Handsome has become the go-to brand for celebrity style makers worldwide. With over 16 collections under their belt, as well as the introduction of four activewear capsules, designer Jeremy & Katinka Somers turn swimwear into spellbinding works of art. With colorful palettes and exquisitely shaped cuts, We Are  Handsome’s cult celebrity following continues to grow, including international style icons such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Florence Welch, Blake Lively, Iggy Izalea, Katy Perry and Sarah Jessica Parker.

DEFINE

With an iconic product and sights set on US waters, Australian prêt-à-porter swimwear label We Are Handsome turned to EightSixtySouth to handle the North American launch of its visionary range. Understanding that of utmost importance was making a splash beyond the swim category, allowing for growth and longevity as a design house, EightSixtySouth executed a comprehensive media and tastemaker outreach program.

CREATE

With a creative and detailed market launch strategy, EightSixtySouth helped the media jump on board: everyone from influential publications – Vogue, The New York Times, WWD, Style.com – to social media networks – featured on over 2,000 blogs – to top retailers – picked up in Tier A boutiques on both coasts – and touted trendsetters – instant celeb fans Rihanna, Diane Kruger and Fergie. We Are Handsome was making waves, all in its debut collection. As one of the company’s longest standing clients, EightSixtySouth continues to make strides with each new collection, executing press worthy partnerships, celebrity placements, events and traditional media coverage.

The brand persona of We Are Handsome is simple, to live in a never ending summer. The swim label looked to EightSixtySouth to share this eternal summer lifestyle and love of following the sun with the US market. EightSixtySouth looked to the travel content Handsome organically produces in its search for inspiration as the key to sharing this message. 

EightSixtySouth developed a travel contributor campaign that leveraged We Are Handsome's love for adventure, and desire to soak up the sun around the globe, and turned it into an exclusive partnership program. Using the brand's existing inventory of imagery and knowledge from breathtaking destinations, EightSixtySouth posed the team as experts and tastemakers in stylish travel to top lifestyle publications as exclusive fashion and travel content. Through outlets like Conde Nast Traveler, Harper's Bazaar and StyleCaster, the story of how the We Are Handsome team lives a never ending summer was shared. From places to shop and sites to see, We Are Handsome become sought-after travel contributors for sun-soaked guides to destinations like the Maldives, Hamilton Island and Cape Town. 

In subsequent seasons, the EightSixtySouth expanded this outreach to include tourism boards around the country, securing travel partnerships for the brand in destinations including Bali, Sri Lanka, Curacao and Thailand.