In February 2020, Stephanie Niles launched 7th Street Swim, a sustainably sourced swimwear line. Speaking to Authority Magazine, she recounted birthing the idea. “I started thinking about the times that I felt really happy,” she said. “Quickly, a pattern emerged. Me, in a bikini, at a beach with my friends, running around and feeling so awesome and relaxed.” True to her word, Niles has shared many pictures of her vacationing in a two-piece swimsuit on Instagram in the past. One such snap featuring an orange and white patterned number from September 2021 is captioned, “summers over when I say it’s over!!! (jk please stick around summer I love u).”
Niles’s winning idea for her swimwear brand didn’t take off from the ground as soon as she had it. She needed a partner, and when a friend named Emma Moran was let go from her job, the perfect opportunity presented itself. With the help of a style expert, the duo got into business.
Still, Niles wasn’t entirely motivated when she began the project at a time when most of the world was on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was in California with Jake Browning at his family friend’s place, and it took the effort of their host, a maternal figure, to get things done. “Every day she would ask me ‘So what have you done today? What’s the update on the swimsuits? Have you called so-and-so?'” Niles recalled. “That accountability was exactly what I needed.”
