Jessica Rey is the founder of Rey Swimwear. Jessica was born in 1982 and grew up in California, where she later went to college and graduated with her BA in Business. After graduation, she then moved to LA to pursue her MBA at Loyola Marymount University. While finishing her MBA, Rey auditioned for and got roles in television shows and series such as Power Rangers: Wild Force. She also made smaller guest appearances on other television shows. As Rey shared with many, her daily “uniform” was a bikini because all she had to do was hanging out at the pool between auditions and jobs at that point in her career. One day, after much contemplation over her exposure, Rey decided that she was done bikinis. After doing much research by shopping for an alternative to a bikini (one-pieces and or modest two-pieces), she found that there were no bathing suits that “didn’t make me look three times my age”. She saw the lack of options that so many women had for modest swimwear.
So Rey decided to make her own suites her own way. Many of her friends expressed interest in wanting a one-piece that was also stylish. Rey put her degree to good use and started Rey Swimwear. Rey Swimwear draws it’s inspiration from icons such as Audrey Hepburn- whom they view as timeless and feminine. The company is committed to ethical sourcing and production and will only work with manufacturers who share these same values. As Rey herself said, “I believe in the dignity of all people- those who make my clothing and those who wear it”. These strong unique core values have really excelled the company into what it is today.
This is a great solution to a problem that affects a large demographic and the fact that its a personal problem gives her both connection and insight to it. It’s also great that she shows consistency through caring not only about those who wear her product, but also those who manufacture it. Kudos to her for making an alternative to a cultural norm that she didn’t want to except.
Jessica Rey reveals the importance of looking for problems and solutions in our everyday lives. She used a problem from her own personal experience and searched for a solution. When she couldn’t find another company as a solution she created her own. This is what we need to be doing as entrepreneurs. Looking at the world around us and seeing where the gaps are between the problems and the answers and identifying when we can be that answer.
Jessica Rey does a great job of differentiating her brand and creating an experience for her customers. Her desire to promote dignity for her brand and her customers sets her product apart from others and makes it successful. She knew of a need (one-piece swimsuits) and found a way to create a practical and attractive solution to the problem.
This is a fantastic idea!!! I know from both personal experience and friends that the problem of finding modest swimwear is super frustrating. I’m so glad that there is someone out there working to solve this problem! The company’s value statement, “I believe in the dignity of all people- those who make my clothing and those who wear it,” sums up Rey swimwear fantastically and is really memorable. I love it!
Jessica Rey saw a need for women who wanted to wear modest swimwear but didn’t want to look three times their age so she created her own swimsuits. To differentiate herself she chose to draw inspiration from icons who she viewed as timeless and feminine. Overall I think it is a great idea but the only thing that might cause customers to not by the swimsuits is the high price.
I love how this idea transpired out of her own experience. In my opinion, there really is a gap in the market for “stylish one-pieces” and other modest bathing suits. She diversified herself among the market with this idea.
I absolutely love this idea. Jessica Rey is hoping to solve a problem that many women, including me, have experienced. I do believe that there is also need to represent modesty well and I think Jessica Rey is doing that. She is a wonderful example of an entrepreneur that found a niche market, that she was passionate about, and created a company in it while portraying what modesty is truly all about.