“I wake up every morning feeling like the luckiest girl in the world because I love what I do,” says Sinesia, designer and founder of her eponymous SINESIA KAROL SWIMWEAR company, which she launched in 2012. An instant success, the collection was first bought by luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman and is now sold all over the world, including Sinesia’s native Brazil. Newport was an easy choice to open the first store dedicated to the line of swimwear, dresses, accessories, and other beach apparel.
“I chose Newport because we live here part of the year, and most importantly, I always love the vibe in Newport and the people,” says Sinesia. “Summer here is priceless.”
She and her husband of 26 years raised their four now-grown children in Boston, but split their time between Portsmouth, RI (with a beach house at The Aquidneck Club, where her husband is one of the founders); Boston, MA; Miami, FL; and Vitória, Brazil. Sinesia’s story is rooted in family, beginning with her childhood in Vitória, an island beach town just north of Rio de Janeiro, where she took in the styles and trends of the region and her passion for design was cemented.
“My mother had a small bathing suit manufacturing business in my home town in Brazil,” Sinesia shares. “Growing up with her as my role model made me choose my career path today. My mom used to make all our clothes and I used to love going to the stores and choosing different fabrics with her. She loved taking me, as well, because I was very curious and always ready to learn. I knew then what I was going to be when I grew up.”
Sinesia’s line of elevated beachwear creates a marriage of both American and Brazilian sensibilities toward fashion and body confidence to bring the two distinct markets together. Each piece makes use of luxury fabrics and high-quality execution, down to the smallest details, to create beautiful and unique apparel.
From traveling to fashion and trade shows to making new connections in the industry, Sinesia shares that she loves every minute of it. “I’m surrounded by very exciting and interesting people all the time,” she says, and she relishes in tackling each new creative challenge. “I’m always playing with colors, fabrics, accessories, and much more.”
In her 10-year career, Sinesia is proud of her brand’s growth and reception. In that time, she has also spoken to crowds of aspiring fashion designers and entrepreneurs who look to her for inspiration, including the Istituto Marangoni Miami, a prestigious design school. “To me this is better than any award that I have ever received,” she says, “to be able to share my journey with kids that dream about this career one day.”
Sinesia also spoke to a crowd of 600 fashion and business college students in 2020, just before the pandemic. “It was the best experience I ever had,” she recalls now. “The audience was engaged, attentive, and curious about my life and career.”
On the horizon, Sinesia looks forward to launching a brand new line of men’s swim trunks soon while continuing to work with the clients she’s forged relationships with over the past decade.
To anyone beginning their own entrepreneurial journey, Sinesia offers encouraging words: “If you have a dream, work hard to achieve it. Everything is possible when you put your heart and soul into it.”
135 Spring Street, Newport • 401-847-1087
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