No Black, No Basic

Jacqueline Sinclair from No Black, No Basic contacted me to say she has seen the SS11 collection and loved it so much she wrote about the brand. 'No Black, No Basic came about as a result of fatigue with Melbourne’s black, utilitarian, hipper-than-thou approach to fashion' so it's only natural to think Jacqueline would have a strong feel for swimwear!
I think you'll have to agree its a very good write up, thanks Jacqueline!

Black Neon is one of my favourite new labels to hit the racks at one of my favourite London boutiques, Wolf & Badger. Being from the sun-drenched land that is Australia, a good pair or two of bathers (as we call them – swim suits, bathing costumes etc for you non-Antipodeans) is a wardrobe essential come summer time. Australia has, arguably, some of the best swimwear labels in the world, including the inimitable Zimmerman, Tigerlily & Seafolly.


It’s such an Australian essential that even traditional womenswear brands run limited edition lines of swimwear – one of my favourite bathing suits is by Camilla & Marc, and Alice McCall and Karen Walker have all run swimwear lines.
England, probably due to reasons of climate, is not as renowned for swimwear, so it is with great pleasure I discovered Black Neon. Their line is strong, sexy with a definite nod to the eighties. I can see they draw inspiration from shows like Baywatch, Miami Vice and films like Cocktail, and imagine wearing these to the beach complete with big hair, sweat bands or armfuls of costume jewellery.


I can imagine Grace Jones rocking one of these babies on the cover of ‘Island Life’ (version 2.0, updated for the new millennium!) or the long legged glamazons of the late eighties, like Cindy Crawford, strutting down the boulevard on Venice Beach, or Bondi or the waterfront at St. Tropez. This ain’t a label for the wallflowers or shrinking violets out there… Glamour, power & summer – that’s how the ladies at Black Neon roll. And I, for one, will be joining them, if this London weather holds steady!