For the past nine years, Nevisian designer Keiann Corlise has displayed an unwavering dedication to capturing the essence of the Caribbean through her swim and resort wear brand, Kass Swim.

Though raised in St. Croix, Corlise has been intentional about remaining rooted to her ancestral home.

“Nevis has played such a big part of everything that I do and just that whole connection, I feel so special to know that my grandmother came from here, my great grandmother came from here,” she tells YCG from her current home in New York, becoming visibly emotional as she conjures up memories of her grandmother who died recently.

The success her brand enjoys today, after nine years of her dutiful toiling, is largely due to this commitment to staying true to who she is.

“In high school I was always creative. When it was time to go to college, I told my parents you know, if I really am going to succeed, I need to do something that I like. I told them, I would love to study design and marketing. They found a private school and we all toured it and that’s how I started designing,” she shares of her introduction to the field.

The swimwear pieces offered at Kass Swim range from deliciously sultry to stylishly conservative. It’s deliberate, as Keiann speaks of the importance of catering to every kind of woman.

“We have a swimsuit for, you know, when you’re just going to the beach with your family, there’s a swimsuit for when it’s a beach party, there’s a swimsuit for when you’re with the kids, or when you’re going to the beach with your boo. I try to incorporate all of these styles when I design,” she shares of her process.

Her intricate design silhouettes, complimented by bold, rich colors and prints, most recently captured the attention of British Vogue, with the magazine- which boasts of a 24 million reach and a readership of close to 800,000- reaching out with an offer to feature Corlise’s Spring and Summer collection in its ‘Seas the Day’ advertorials, published in its June 2023 issue.

“When does Vogue reach out to someone? I mean, it was crazy,” she recalls feeling when she first opened the email.

“I feel so fortunate to be able to tell my story how I want to tell it,” Corlise continues.

“People can think like maybe swimsuit is a niche but when we expand it, I realize that I’m a resort wear designer. That’s really our life; people pay to come here and take vacations, you know, where we live, and we are so privileged in so many ways that I honestly didn’t even realize those ways until recently. I thought I was just selling a luxury product but really, I’m giving people a piece of my life because that’s how we live.”

She credits, in part, the gentle push of a professor in design school, who supported her dive into the magical world of resort fashion, given the designs for fall and winter were unfamiliar to her as a Caribbean woman.

“They introduced me to resort wear and told me, you know, there are higher end brands who create cruise lines and resort lines. And he told me, in their world these are people who can go on long vacations for two weeks, or they have vacation homes and I was like well, that’s who I need to be selling to,” she remembers.

Staying true to her roots, even when it meant at times going the longer, lonelier route, has had its rewards. To be featured in Vogue, an honor many an established designer dreams of, wasn’t the brand’s first major publication. Roughly three years after starting Kass Swim, the brand landed a 2017 spread in Sports Illustrated.

These golden opportunities provide fuel for each step of the journey, validating the bet she has taken on herself; like many entrepreneurs, Corlise handles much of the business as a one woman show. And for her, there was never a Plan B.

“I think Sports Illustrated happened so early, I was still working retail, I had just moved out of my grandmother’s home. And it was like, I can’t come this far to just come this far. So I was just like this is it, you have to make it work. But if we were in an alternate world and this wasn’t happening?” she ponders out loud. “Well…I would probably be on an island somewhere being a mom either planting, painting, sewing, teaching. Even with my success, I still see myself doing those things. If it feels right that’s what I’m going to do.”

At this present stage of her journey, her challenge is finding an investor who is able to meet her specific needs; it’s another area she’s unwilling to compromise.

“I’m longing for investors that understand our lifestyle. I can’t have somebody tap into something that I’ve built so hugely that doesn’t understand how we operate. Even if it’s somebody who lives away, somebody who has roots in the Caribbean, they will understand what everybody is longing to get back to- because we are, it is a privilege,” she explains.

At the end of the day, while she remains committed to spearheading operations at her business, cultivating a sense of home is something she intends to take with her at every step of her journey.

“I am more so by myself in the city but I still travel back home very often. Family and relationships are my core. Even privately, or romantically. I think being with somebody who has Caribbean roots, I have time for that…I think it’s important…very, very important,” she ends.

Follow Keianns design journey and the continued growth of her brand Kass Swim on social media and her website HOME – KASS SWIM (swimkass.com).