Three dynamic Canadian Sri Lankan entrepreneurs launch Alai Swimwear for plus size market
Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
The undergraduates who became roommates combined their entrepreneurial skills and love for fashion to launch ALAI Swim, a plus size swimwear brand in Canada. Sagana Atputha Selvarajah, Rammiya Charles and Abiramy Sriskandarajah are all Sri Lankan Canadians who reside in Toronto with the exception of Rammiya who lives in Cairo. The trio have distributed their duties and each person handles core sections ranging from production and quality control to financial and social media aspects of the business. They are united in their determination to create fashionable swimwear for the plus size market segment while promoting body positivity and inclusivity in fashion and media.
What inspired you to launch a plus size swimwear range?
Our inspiration stems from personal experiences. We found that most swimwear brands failed or struggled to create products that catered to midsize or plus-sizes women, despite women of these sizes making up a significant portion of the customer base. Similarly, brands that offered wider size ranges seemed to compromise style and quality. We wanted to fill in the gap and made it a priority to offer sizes that work for all bodies while being fashion forward and comfortable.
How long has it been since you launched?
ALAI Swim is coming up on one year of being officially launched! The company was founded in April of 2020. While Canada was in lockdown, the team began researching and designing and thereafter began the first round of production samples. The brand was ready to launch in March of 2021. The Amritham collection was the first product launch, which was in May of 2021. Since then, we have also launched our Reversible collection as of July 2021.
