Building a brand while building a community

Bella Horner

Catalyzed by the pandemic, Bella Horner finally decided to act on her long-held wish of creating a fashion-related business, and so her swimwear brand Alta Bella was created. One year later, the Times spoke with Horner in an exclusive interview to understand the brand’s developments over yet another year in which Macau remained physically very closed but in which opportunities to try new things and take some risks also surfaced.

In the middle of the pandemic, the need to fit perfectly into a bathing suit led Horner to make one herself, which gave her the idea of doing the same for others. The time was short from the idea to action.

Established in 2021, swimwear brand Alta Bella quickly started to advance, fueled by a keen community which grew around it, the founder and creator told the Times. The secret, Horner says, is in the approach that her label has to women and their individual needs and looks.

At a time when “diversity” seemed to be a meaningless word in the mouths of politicians and businessmen, Alta Bella gave it meaning by producing customized swimwear for a diverse range of women, which reflected the diversity of Macau.

The brand focused on body positivity and empowering customers to choose what they want and feel comfortable wearing, as well as adjusting a general product perfectly to their body type. Alta Bella started to attract attention among friends and by word-of-mouth as well as through social media platforms, and word quickly spread to destinations far beyond the borders of Macau.

“Our customers are from everywhere, [in] Macau and beyond. Our client type is the everyday woman, the ordinary woman, real people,” Horner said, noting that while social media is often fueled by “false testimonials” of people who use their influence purely to advertise products they do not use, Alta Bella does “precisely the opposite,” making use of common women from all walks of life, regardless of their age, color, nationality or body type, as their models.

“All of my models are real people from different walks of life. From a bartender to a domestic helper, they all come together. From Chinese to Portuguese, Filipino, Indonesian and many other nationalities, they all want to be a part of this. That amazed me so much and impressed me so much because you know you are helping them in becoming their best selves,” Horner said, explaining that a community has been forming around the brand.

People also love the fact that they can customize their swimwear to “hide more” or “show more” according to their preference.

Addressing Macau’s conservative mindset, Horner feels that this has not been a big problem, as more open-minded people are taking the lead and, in doing so, transmit confidence to other women to try, if they want to, “and they do.”

As Horner explained, all customizations came as part of each item’s price tag, at no additional cost. In a bid for sustainability, Alta Bella uses high-quality recycled materials, as well as making use of as much as possible of the fabrics, for example, by adding hairbands and other pieces to swimwear, that are made with leftover fabric.

Alta Bella Collection

Power to decide extends to models

In yet another twist on common practice, it is the models who decide what they feel comfortable wearing in the brand’s photoshoots, events and shows, Horner explained, as she aims to have people in absolute control of their decisions and looks.

Usually, in events of this kind hosted by brands, each look is decided in advance and then assigned to a model, who must wear it whether she likes it or not.

“Before I even let them wear their bathing suits, I always ask [models] for their preference: if they prefer a one-piece or two-piece and what kind of model. I want them to be comfortable. I don’t want them to wear something someone else decides. It’s all about what they want and about being themselves,” Horner said, adding that “we are sick and tired of seeing women being forced into a lot of things because they are afraid to be different or to go against a certain norm. Most of the time women are not happy but they are afraid to say anything and this keeps adding up and coming back to them. We are taking the first step so these women can stand on their own feet; and who knows if this community that is building up can push for some other things that can make a difference here.”

For Horner, it’s a “community of empowered women who want to empower more women until all the women in the world come together and say: ‘hey, we’re all beautiful, we can be scarred for life, but we’re all beautiful queens’.”

Men and Kid’s collections coming soon

Created for women, Alta Bella is now expanding and new collections dedicated to men and children are in progress and soon to be presented, Horner told the Times.

The idea is that entire families and friends can be also part of the community and not be excluded by gender or age group.

The collections will follow similar concepts, offering freedom of choice and customization as their main points, as well as the same concern for sustainability.

First public runway event at MFf

After several private and semi-public events in hotels and nightclubs, Horner revealed to the Times that she is in preparation for the brand’s first public runway event, to be part of the Macau Fashion Festival 2022 (MFF) in October this year, during the Macau International Trade and Investment Fair.

Although proud of being able to take such a young brand to the biggest local fashion stage, Horner said that, unfortunately, the runway show cannot be purely swimwear, so she has decided to use some of the resort collection pieces, namely pants, to provide some “coverage” as requested by the event organizers.

Horner said that the solution is not “ideal,” but the benefits of brand exposure take priority, noting that this is part of the greater goal of “penetrating the market little by little.”

The brand will be also represented at the fair with a booth where the whole swimwear collection will be displayed.