Robin Piccone

For a designer label rooted in real swimwear pedigree, many find it is. Robin Piccone is an American designer celebrated for pioneering the use of neoprene in scuba-style swimwear, and her namesake collection, begun in 1990, carries that design-led heritage. Value comes down to how much you want considered, designer swimwear from a name often called the "Queen of Neoprene."

Robin Piccone is an American fashion designer known for pioneering the use of neoprene in her scuba-style swimwear, originally under the Body Glove label. She is so closely tied to the material that she is affectionately called the "Queen of Neoprene" for her pioneering work with it in swimwear design.

She earned the nickname by helping transform neoprene, a synthetic rubber traditionally associated with wetsuits, scuba diving and surfing, into a fashionable material. Pioneering its use in scuba-style swimwear is exactly why she is affectionately called the "Queen of Neoprene."

Her first job was with the swimwear company Cole of California, after which she relocated to New York to design for Bobbie Brooks. In 1985, she licensed a line of swimsuits for Body Glove, a brand previously known mainly to divers and surfers, and her designs quickly gained a devoted following.

She established her own company in 1985 at the age of 24, in her garage in Venice, California, and her debut collection's swimsuits became instant icons of 80s style. In 1990 she began her namesake collection, which she continues to this day.

In 1986, Piccone partnered with Body Glove, becoming one of the first designers to secure a licensing agreement with the established wetsuit manufacturer. Through that partnership she played a key role in turning neoprene from a purely technical wetsuit material into something fashionable.

Yes. In 1994, after introducing neoprene to fashion under Body Glove, she founded Piccone Apparel and entered a licensing agreement to design a junior swimwear collection for Guess?, marking that brand's first swimwear line in six years. Guess co-chairman Paul Marciano said the company had been "waiting for the right candidate to come along" before choosing her.

It is. She received the "California Designer of the Year" award in 1989, is an active member of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), and her swimwear sits in the permanent collection of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where two of her original neoprene suits and a mini skirt have been exhibited.

Yes. Through her association with stylist Patricia Field, Piccone was introduced to RuPaul, for whom she designed swimwear and gowns. That collaboration is one of the notable threads in her long career.

Treat it gently to preserve the fit and fabric: rinse in cool water after chlorine or salt, avoid wringing, and lay flat to dry away from direct heat. Careful handling helps the supportive construction and quality fabric that define the collection hold their shape season after season.

Its distinction is heritage and innovation: this is the designer who pioneered neoprene in scuba-style swimwear and turned a wetsuit material into a fashion statement, with debut pieces that became icons of 80s style. That pioneering legacy, carried into her namesake collection since 1990, is what sets the label apart.