How a High School Passion Project Became Dessy Hairis’s Booming Swimwear Brand, Bydee
Recently, we've been seeing TikTok-viral swimwear brand Bydee just about everywhere, and we have Australian founder, CEO and creative director Dessy Hairis to thank for it.
Dessy began the brand as a hobby in her late teens, selling her pieces in Sydney flea markets, and it's since exploded to become an international success. She's not just an entrepreneur but a trend-maker, with each piece of swimwear serving as a wearable piece of art, featuring fanciful designs inspired by exotic locations, and empowering confidence in the women who wear them. It's no surprise, then, that fans include Alessandra Ambrosio, Dixie D'Amelio and Millie Bobby Brown, among hundreds of thousands more across the brand's social channels. As fans of the brand ourselves, we just had to learn more, and Dessy was kind enough to share her story with us in the interview below.
Name: Dessy Hairis
IG handles: @dessyhairis and @bydee_aus
Hometown: Eastern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
1. Dessy says she's always loved fashion.
"Mum often sewed, and she passed that love onto my sister and me early on. I'd sit there, fascinated, as she whipped up outfits for herself and then turned the leftover fabric into something special for us. And with Dad being an architect, our home was a haven for all things creative. Whether it was origami, scrapbooking or jewelry-making, I always had some sort of creative hobby. And my love for style? I don't remember a time I wasn't obsessed with fashion. I also went on to study a bachelor of fashion and textiles at university, which furthered my love for the industry."
-Dessy Hairis
(via Bydee)
2. Her personal style is mostly minimal, with a splash of color or print.
"I love to elevate a look with timeless accessories. My style changes throughout the year from oversized vintage Tommy Bahama shirts and bikinis walking down to my local swim spot to slouched suits and chunky slides, then through to Euro summer head-to-toe Bydee. My fashion muse would have to be Hailey Beiber; I love her effortless yet chic style."
-Dessy Hairis
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3. Bydee actually started as Dessy's passion project in her late teens, as she was finishing high school.
"I started by making and selling bikinis to my school peers through Facebook at the time when it was cool to have 1000-plus friends! I went on to study a degree in fashion and textiles. While studying, I continued to make bikinis and, at the time, bralettes, which I sold across various Sydney markets. I hired my Mum as my first employee—she is still with the business today! I launched my website alongside my market stall, and it came to a point where I couldn't do both, so I transitioned online away from the markets in 2019, and the business grew significantly during COVID. In 2020, I moved into my first warehouse, which was over 2000 square feet, a big transition from the seven-foot by seven-foot spare room in my house that I had been working from! The business has continued to grow, and we have an amazing and passionate team at Bydee; I am now lucky enough to travel around the world gathering inspiration and shooting new collections—in essence, living my dream of being the CEO and creative director for Bydee! I am so grateful."
-Dessy Hairis
4. She says that what sets Bydee apart from other swimwear brands is its focus on detail and fit.
"From our custom-designed prints, which take weeks, sometimes months to bring to life through to the charms, which are designed in-house and tailored to each collection. At Bydee, it is our mission to make women feel amazing! We currently offer size XS to XXL and also sample through to this size, which means we fit our samples on a size XXL and ensure they look and feel amazing! Working in fashion, I know this doesn't always happen, which often leads to pieces that don't fit very well on all shapes. We are really focused on ensuring that when women wear our swimwear, they feel their best. We also put a lot of emphasis on adjustability, which always helps to ensure the perfect fit! This is something I learnt from my three years selling at the markets where I would do alterations for customers, but as we grew, I wanted to make sure women could easily adjust their swimsuits. We are also very customer-focused. Our Bydee Babes influence everything we do here at Bydee! Starting Bydee at the markets in 2014, I learnt who our customer was and what she wanted, and ever since our transition online, we are constantly listening to our customer's feedback and evolving, from shoot locations to design features, new style development even through to where to open our next store! We are all about engaging with our community, mostly through our social media channels. We even held a competition last year where we had Bydee babes send through a video explaining why they want to be part of designing our next range with us and we picked three lucky winners who came along on the journey with us and designed our December collection! I've never seen another brand do this, and it was so fun bringing a collection to life in collaboration with our customers! We also pride ourselves in sustainability, and I think this also sets Bydee apart from other brands."
-Dessy Hairis
5. Bydee means "by Dee"—by Dessy.
"Dee was a bit of an alter ego that I created when I started Bydee. I have been called Dessy most of my life. It felt easier to take the leap and start a brand if it was 'Dee' starting it, and not Dessy."
-Dessy Hairis
6. At the moment, her go-to outfit when she's in a rush is a long, low-waisted skirt with either a tank top or an off-the-shoulder jersey top, with some chunky slides.
"I love to be comfortable but still feel chic and feminine. But if it's as warm as it's been in Sydney lately, it's almost always a Bydee bikini, sarong and oversized vintage shirt from my partner's wardrobe. I am lucky I live near the beach and this outfit is acceptable for most quick outings! Haha."
-Dessy Hairis
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7. The best piece of advice she ever received was to trust her gut and follow her intuition.
"Many people have told me this throughout my journey, and I've always trusted my gut when I feel I'm at a crossroads."
-Dessy Hairis
8. Her current favorite swimsuit in her closet is Bydee's Prague Top and Malaga Bottom in Tropicalia.
"I love the beaded detail and double straps on the Prague top, and the Malaga bottom is one of my all-time favorite bottoms because of the minimal coverage and tie sides with our signature charm detailing."
-Dessy Hairis
(via Bydee)
8. Her favorite swim style trend at the moment is sheer dresses and skirts over matching swimsuits.
"Our latest Copacabana collection features just this! Our Floresta print is available both in our swimwear but also in a few beautiful sheer georgette resort-wear pieces which really take any bikini look from beach to bar."
-Dessy Hairis
(via Bydee)
9. Above everything else, Dessy wants people to know hoe much she deeply cares about Bydee and making women feel amazing.
"Bydee started as purely a passion project, and I am so beyond grateful for all the babes who have supported us along the way. Every collection is a little piece of me, and I am so excited to show our babes what we have in store for the near future!"
-Dessy Hairis
For more insights from our favorite fashion entrepreneurs, click HERE to read our feature on Beyond Lost streetwear founder Alyssa McKay.