By JOLENE OGLE
SHE has been helping female surfers catch waves unhindered since 2005 and now Hive swimwear owner and Noosa local Kat Hogg has scored two nominations in the Sunshine Coast Design Awards.
It all started in 2005 when Kat, a surfer herself, noticed a need for women’s swimwear that stayed put in the surf.
“I started to hear a repeated theme of women asking ‘what do you wear in the surf?’ and ‘have you found anything that stays on?’” she said.
“I identified there was a niche of girls who wanted functional swimwear that didn’t look like your average training suit. They wanted something that was fashion forward, with that fashion element to it,” she said.
Kat began to research swimwear design and created three styles for her first production run, with mix and match separates giving a lot of bang for her investment buck.
Since the first range, Hive swimwear is now stocked in over 60 outlets and has just branched into the European market.
Kat said the key to her success is creating a high-quality product that doesn’t compromise on functionality.
“If you can trust the garment you are wearing, it gives you the confidence to go out and perform your sport at a better level because you’re not worried about garment failure,” she said.
Kat said it was the most amazing feeling to see someone she didn’t know wearing one of her designs, and she still had that feeling today, after almost 10 years of production.
“I haven’t lost that excitement of seeing someone wearing something that I have made,” she said.
For Kat, designing and producing swimwear is like teaching people to surf.
“I used to love being able to teach people who didn’t believe they could ever surf, and in a two-hour lesson you could get them standing up and riding the white wash into the beach. They would come out so elated and so excited that they have achieved this thing that they thought was so impossible. I get the same feeling out of the swimwear,” she said.
A lot of research and design goes into each Hive style, with local surfers and Kat herself proving the best testers of all Hive swimwear.
“I won’t make something until I’ve tested it myself and I know it is right,” she said.
“Every suit undergoes real world testing in the surf, under duress, and real girls who are out their surfing and doing sport.”
The latest Hive range, Native to Noosa, pays homage to the local landscape with designs such as Granite Bay, Laguna and Ti Tree all capturing the essence of the region.
“It was good to embrace the places that I love to surf and that people can identify with. People that live here, but also people who visit. We’ve used names that people who have been here on holiday can relate to. It promotes our area and we hope it makes people remember the great time they had here,” she said.
Despite her success, Kat is humbled by her recent nomination for the Sunshine Coast Design Award as a Noosa nominee and the Hall of Fame.
“I was really honoured to be nominated. For me, it’s always about the swimwear so to be recognised as a designer is quite humbling,” she said.
The award winners will be announced at the Sunshine Coast International Fashion Festival (SCIFF) in October. Now in its seventh year, the SCIFF honours local established and emerging designers.
