Katie Sturino Plus Size Swimwear Line Is One To Buy

Ladies, your dream line-up of plus friendly swimwear has been brought to life. Bruna Malucelli and Katie Sturino have teamed up to create a pastel- and rainbow-hued collection of swimsuits in sizes 10-26 (L-XL). A long time coming, plus-size women are finally getting a dedicated swim collection that's as good as its size availability.

Brazilian label Bruna Malucelli has been hustling when it comes to size diversity. The swim line, which is widely known for its inclusive sizing and use of a wide array of models, produces some of the cutest designs out there (pom-poms anyone?). This time around, Malucelli's tapped into the creative energy of Katie Sturino, the popular plus-size fashion and lifestyle blogger behind The 12ish Style, who's also made an empire around her dog-mom status to Muppet, Pants, Cheese, and the late, world-famous Toast (R.I.P.). Together, they've come up with an exclusive 9-piece swimwear collection that's trendy without sacrificing fit. Of the partnership, Malucelli gushes, "I love the message [Katie] is sending to her followers — to feel confident and powerful, to show that you can wear basically anything no matter what size you are."

Sturino, who has been vocal as a Refinery29 contributor in the past, has made her woes of shopping as a plus-size woman well known. But for swimwear, she explains that the hardest part about finding a good bathing suit is, well, finding a good bathing suit. She tells R29: "Plus swimwear typically looks like it is made for a plus body, or like it is trying to hide something. I just want a suit that a non-plus size friend would want to buy too, not something I had to buy because nothing else was available." Malucelli adds her input about the lack of options available for curvy women. "We still have too few options in the swimwear market and when we do, they usually look like they're made for plus-size women," she says. "I don't believe women with curves want that, they want to have what other girls are wearing and they want many more options. Not something that screams plus-size only."

When it came to designing the collection, Sturino's primary mission was simple: "Coverage in the tops. I wanted to make sure that my girls would fit into the suits, rather than being at risk of popping out or have unintentional underboob. I also wanted to make sure the suits felt fun and celebratory rather than overly sexy or super covered up," she says. Clearly, this isn't Sturino's first rodeo when it comes to design; she debuted a plus-size capsule collection with Eloquii just last fall.

While Marucelli manages her own e-commerce site, the capsule collection will be exclusive to CoEdition, a recently launched fashion retail site dedicated to women sizes 10 and up. Part of its mission when it opened in March was to become a home for exclusive collaborations, and it's exciting to see them already delivering. Brooke Cundiff, one of CoEdition's co-founders, comments on its premiere collaboration: "CoEdition is a powerful platform to create change in the retail space, to serve a woman who has been ignored by traditional retailers. So, when we thought of our first collaboration, we naturally thought of Bruna and Katie. Katie is a great advocate for body positivity, size inclusivity, and great personal style. Our values align perfectly with Katie’s and we are thrilled to work with Bruna. Her Brazilian flair is perfect for CoEdition, and she has created unique and flattering designs that women will love." Marucelli adds: "I hope this collaboration can reach as many women as possible so they can see — and also ask — that many brands can include a bigger range of sizes for their lines."

Shop the full collection, which debuts on CoEdition today, ahead.