"I don't mean that women have to feel beautiful every day, but that they simply deal with their bodies in a more relaxed manner and without pressure."

small-shops: Hi Julia! You founded a new eco-sustainable fashion brand in 2019, which produces swimsuits designed for all women’s body types. Why did you name your label after the 60’s song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”?

Julia Groß-Müller: The song is about a young woman who doesn't dare to leave the changing room with her new bikini. 60 years later we still have a similar problem. Women don't feel free enough to wear what they want. You may not go swimming or enjoy life to the fullest because you feel unwell and insecure. I want to change that with YITSY BITSY and empower women to wear swimwear whenever they want.

small-shops: Supporting women against body shaming is a noble challenge. Girls since their early teens are triggered by what society promotes as “right body shape” depending on trends. Why do you think it is important to promote a different perception of female bodies?

Julia Groß-Müller: We have to keep reminding ourselves that ideals of beauty, such as on social media, are not real. There are filters, image editing programs and even photos are only a momentary exception. I think it is important to realize that we are learning to appreciate our uniqueness. I don't mean that women have to feel beautiful every day, but that they simply deal with their bodies in a more relaxed manner and without pressure. Beauty is so much more than just a body or a size of clothing. It is something personal and we should treat it that way and not let "ideals" take it away from us.

small-shops: “Queens support queens” is your motto. How do you think a different body awareness affects your queens relationship with themselves and society?

Julia Groß-Müller: Women have to stop judging each other and seeing each other as competition. If we are at peace with ourselves and our bodies, we can pass this on and be strong for other women who are still on their journey. What someone else wears or what someone looks like shouldn't be the most important thing, shouldn't it? Compliments and kind words can sweeten someone all week and will be remembered.

small-shops: Why did you decide designing specifically bikinis? Are you thinking about expanding your collection with different fashion products?

Julia Groß-Müller: Swimwear is a very intimate piece of clothing because it doesn't hide anything. It is in direct contact with our skin, is close to us and usually accompanies us during beautiful moments, such as on vacation, at the sea and in summer. Swimwear should be fun and in no way prevent us from experiencing these moments, because of a badly fitting bikini.

We would like to expand our collection in the future and are currently planning sustainable statement styles. But we will continue to focus on swimwear.

small-shops: On your website you state you couldn’t provide a wider range of sizes because of the hard Corona time. What is your actual size range? How and when do you think to expand it?

Julia Groß-Müller: It is not necessarily due to Corona, but it is difficult for a start-up to offer many different sizes directly. Unfortunately it is due to the purchase quantity in production, because you have to buy a certain amount per size, color and style. That in turn means higher costs and greater risk. Our styles are very flexible and cover many sizes. At the moment we offer S-XL, whereby our tops fit up to an F-cup and the pants up to a size 44/46. If YITSY BITSY continues to grow, we will continuously expand our sizes.

small-shops: Where do you take inspiration from when it comes to designing new bikinis, and which are the most important things you take in account while choosing for the right cuts?

Julia Groß-Müller: When we develop our collection, we always think about all sizes first, because a style should fit all sizes equally well. Then we test the cuts on different bodytypes and women to get feedback. Our designs are very well thought out and are always created in collaboration with our Queens. We are inspired by our environment, we try to solve problems through our craft as designers and let the colors and moods from our vacations and beautiful moments guide us.

small-shops: Apart from this, your brand supports another super important cause which is eco-sustainable fashion. In which terms does Yitsy Bitsy Bikini commit to this goal?

Julia Groß-Müller: When I founded YITSY BITSY, the only thing I could consider was a sustainable label. Nowadays it should be out of the question to use sustainable materials, but also to have them produced fairly without long transport routes. Sustainability is a decision, not a marketing strategy. This also includes the durability and the benefits of the products. We try to combine everything and have consciously decided on a production that comes from Europe, Italy, where we also get our fabrics.

small-shops: Your fabrics contains 78% of ECONYL®, which is an upcycled fabric you buy from Italy. How do you test the quality of your fabrics and which are the advantages of using this kind of fabric in terms of eco-sustainability?

Julia Groß-Müller: The ECONYL® yarn is made entirely from waste such as fishing nets, scraps of cloth and carpets that would otherwise pollute the earth and the sea. The ECONYL® yarn is infinitely recyclable. This means that new products can be created without using up new resources. ECONYL® regenerated nylon is not only a solution for waste, but also better for climate change. It reduces the effects of nylon on global warming by up to 90% compared to oil. Our fabric supplier is checking every single meter of fabric carefully with rigorous quality standards before they being shipped to production. Characteristics which are tested are for example elasticity, color fastness, UPF protection factor, pilling resistance, abrasion resistance and chlorine resistance.

small-shops: If you could change one little thing in the world, what would it be?

Julia Groß-Müller: As a designer, I would like the fashion industry to slow down and not only focus on simple consumption, but also on quality and added value. That the pricing offers a realistic reference to reality and are not carried out on the back of low-wage countries and seamstresses.