There’s a certain confidence that comes only once you’ve found the right swimsuit: the one that doesn’t need adjusting every five minutes, that is flattering and fashionable and just feels like you. Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman built an entire brand around chasing that feeling. As they put it, “if you’re in a bikini on a Monday, you’re having a good day.”
The two friends-turned-business-partners founded Monday Swimwear after years of trying on bikinis that forced them to choose between feeling stylish and feeling supported—a frustration that hit especially close to home for Devin, whose search for suitable bikini tops became one of the brand’s founding obsessions. Since then, Monday has grown from a swim label into a budding resortwear world.
The Wake Edit spoke to Natasha and Devin to learn more about their process and product, discussing everything from the sun-faded umbrellas that inspire their prints to why an all-women team changes everything.
The Wake Edit: After years of trying on hundreds of bikinis around the world, you identified a real gap in the market for women with curves and larger busts. What did the industry keep getting wrong, and how did you set out to fix it?
Monday Swim: We felt like women were constantly being forced to choose between swimwear that was supportive and swimwear that was actually fashionable. So many styles for larger busts felt overly structured, outdated, or didn’t feel aligned with how women actually wanted to dress. We really wanted to prove that you could have both—beautiful, minimal, fashion-forward swimwear that still offered support and made women feel amazing.
Adjustability has also always been a huge focus for us. All of our tops are designed to be adjustable because we know fit is so personal and every woman’s body is different. We also recently introduced our large band/small cup sizing, which actually came from Devin’s own experience before starting Monday. She always found herself sizing up to accommodate her bust, but then the underbust would sit too loose and never feel quite right. Those kinds of real-life frustrations are often what inspire some of our product developments.
TWE: In a saturated swimwear market, what makes Monday Swimwear stand out?
MS: From the beginning, we were really focused on creating swimwear that women genuinely felt good in. We spend an enormous amount of time perfecting our fits, fabrics, and support systems so women feel confident, comfortable, and secure without sacrificing style. We hear constantly from customers that they’ve never felt more confident in swimwear, and I think that emotional connection to the product is a huge part of why we have such a strong returning customer rate and loyal community around the brand.
Beyond swim, Monday has also evolved into much more of a full lifestyle and head-to-toe resortwear brand. We’ve always wanted to create pieces that women can pack for an entire trip and feel effortlessly put-together in, from swim and ready to wear to accessories.
I think our community has also been a huge part of what makes the brand special. Monday has always felt very authentic and deeply connected to the women who wear it.
TWE: What does the inspiration and process look like for deciding the colorways and prints for each of your collections?
MS: A lot of our inspiration naturally comes from Europe and the feeling of being on holiday there. We’re constantly referencing places we travel to, the tones of the water in Sardinia, vintage tiles in Italy, sun faded umbrellas in the South of France, coastal architecture, even the way women dress so effortlessly in those destinations. We always want the collections to feel elevated, timeless, and wearable beyond just one season.
When it comes to colorways, we focus heavily on shades that feel flattering on a wide range of skin tones and that work seamlessly back with existing pieces in your wardrobe. Prints usually start from a feeling or destination and then evolve from there through vintage references, textures, photography, and fabric development.
TWE: As a duo, what roles do each of you play in the company, and how do you bounce off of each other and work together?
MS: We both touch every part of the business, especially the design process, and are very involved in the overall creative direction of the brand. Naturally though, we each have areas we lead more heavily. Natasha is our CEO and oversees the broader business strategy, marketing, branding, partnerships, and overall vision of the company, while Devin leads a lot of our social, influencer marketing, and community-facing initiatives.
Because we’ve worked together for so long, there’s a huge level of trust and honesty between us. We challenge each other in a really healthy way and are both very involved in big-picture decision making. I think what’s made Monday successful is that we genuinely share the same vision for the brand.
TWE: Monday is and always has been entirely female-run. Has that shaped the culture in ways that surprised you?
MS: Definitely. I think having an entirely female-run team has created a really collaborative and emotionally intelligent culture. There’s a strong sense of understanding around the customer because so many of the women on our team are the customer.
It’s also created an environment where women really champion one another. I know it sounds cliché, but our Monday team feels like a family. We’re all incredibly supportive of each other, and there’s a lot of passion, creativity, and care that goes into everything we do.
TWE: Body positivity has always been at the core of your brand. How do you ensure that ethos lives in the product itself, not just the marketing?
MS: It has to start with the product. There’s no point talking about confidence or inclusivity if women don’t actually feel good when they put the swimwear on.
We think about that in every stage of development, from support and adjustability to coverage options, sizing, fabric feel, and the way pieces fit across different body types.
We also really try to ensure women feel represented in every aspect of the brand. The women who represent Monday all have different body types, and we always want customers to be able to see themselves reflected in the brand in some way. Product-wise, we’re also very conscious about offering options depending on how women want to wear their swim. For example, some customers love minimal coverage bottoms, while others prefer something more moderate, so we try to cater to a range of preferences rather than a one size fits all approach.
TWE: Where do you see the biggest challenge for swimwear over the next few years?
MS: The market has become incredibly saturated and trend cycles move faster than ever, so one of the biggest challenges is staying true to your brand identity while still continuing to evolve.
There’s also increasing pressure across the industry around pricing, sustainability, and production timelines, which can be difficult to navigate while maintaining quality. For us, the focus is always on building long-term trust with our customer rather than chasing short-term trends.
TWE: Where do you see the biggest opportunity for swimwear over the next few years?
MS: We see a huge opportunity in the continued evolution of swim into lifestyle and ready-to-wear. Customers want versatility now—pieces that can transition from the beach to lunch to evening—and swimwear that feels part of a broader wardrobe rather than a standalone category.
We also think women are becoming increasingly focused on fit, quality, and longevity over fast fashion trends, which aligns really naturally with how we’ve always approached product design.
