After a week of attending fashion show after fashion show, frantically rushing back and forth between our office and Lincoln Center, tending to blisters and suffering many a sleep deprived night, it’s official: we need a vacation.
Meet Kirsty Hathaway, editor of the lifestyle, travel and fashion magazine Beach Tomato and founder of online beachwear shop, The Beach Tomato Shack.Founded by the award-winning online luxury travel operator Black Tomato, Beach Tomato combines inspiring, image-led editorial with cutting edge tailor-made travel experiences and aims to target a fashion-savvy audience with an innate passion for travel.
Beach Tomato offers the very best of global beach culture, from the undiscovered and remote beaches to the chic, buzzy havens of paradise. And, with the recent launch of The Beach Tomato Shack the online shop for all your holiday essentials — Beach Tomato won’t just get you to your stretch of sand, but will make sure you holiday in style. Having worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years, (starting her career at GQ and Vogue before moving on to Company magazine as fashion editor) Kirsty now splits her time between both Beach Tomato magazine and The Beach Tomato Shack.
We met her at her East London base to chat with her about the inspiration behind Beach Tomato and the beaches you need to discover for 2012. Then take a peek at the slideshow above for some pics of Kirsty, her fab website and some of her favorite shots from amazing beaches!
Name: Kirsty Hathaway
Age: 30
Job: Editor of Beach Tomato magazine and founder of The Beach Tomato Shack.
Describe yourself in three words: Creative, Energetic,Traveler
Hidden talents? Making fancy dress out of my existing wardrobe.
Newest obsession? Our new online beach holiday-dedicated shop. I love our animal heads.
What’s your holiday style? Very relaxed. I love anything that’s marl cotton or a light flowing fabric,but bright printed trousers are my newest obsession.
Who would be your dream interview? OK, so it may be a little on the clich side of original, but Marilyn Monroe. I have read a lot of books on her, her acting career, her personal life and the conspiracy theories around her suicide. She may have been a little bonkers, but I imagine she would give an interesting interview.
Favorite beach read? The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.
Favorite designer? I love British designer, Roksanda Ilincic. Her shapes, colors, cuts and contrast are incredibly unique and I feel she’s really doing something interesting. You can imagine (being a beach fanatic) how excited I was when she launched swimwear as well.
Favorite beach? Choosing only ONE beach to be my favorite would be like choosing a favorite child. However, one that sits close to my heart is Sambolo beach in Banten on Java, Indonesia. My parents used to live in Jakarta and Sambolo is just a three hour drive away (in Jakarta terms that is like round the corner!).There are a few little houses on the beach with only the basic mod-cons, but I used to head down with my dog, Macyand we would have the whole beach to ourselves. We went swimming, hiked through local villages to the waterfall for a dip, we had bonfires on the beach and cooked freshly caught fish on the BBQ. It was pure escapist heaven, just me and my dog.
First travel memory? My family always traveled a lot which is how I have this travel addiction as an adult. But having grown up in New York we spent a lot of time in New England. I remember going to my Great Aunt’s house in Cape Cod and swimming in the lake. I loved it until someone told me that there were snapping turtles in there. I would only get into the canoe after that!
Latest venture? The Beach Tomato Shack.I was fed up of only having access to a handful of swimwear designers when I know that there are amazing ones out there. Also, the fact that it’s so incredibly difficult to pick your beach and holiday wardrobe in the depths of winter – winter is my favorite time to escape. So, the idea was born. The Beach Tomato Shack seemed like such a natural extension from Beach Tomato and would mean we would be able to offer a place for our style conscious readers to purchase high quality swimwear and clothing all year round. We source new, up-and-coming swimwear and ready to wear designers from around the world and sit them beside established brands and labels. The idea is that we stock a hand-picked range of luxury designer swimwear that our customers can buy from us whenever, wherever.
Favourite piece from The Beach Tomato Shack? Ekaterina Kukhareva‘s fluro orange and grey fine knitted dress. She is hitting the shack at the beginning of March and I already have my order in.
Who have we got lined up for next season at The Beach Tomato Shack? We have been working hard at sourcing some exciting new brands from around the world who are offering something a little different. In swimwear we have Black Neon homage to the 80′s, think brilliant bright colors and great geometrics, it is unlike anything else out there. In womenswear we have Delia Covezzi beautiful silk dresses with gorgeous water and ink prints on them. They really grab the eye. We have a new men’s swimwear brand, Riz,who does some truly unique patterns in very wearable cuts. We’ve just taken on this great men’s clothing brand Mark Thomas Taylor, which has beautiful well-fitting t-shirts, fun colored cotton shorts and brilliant checked shirts – this brand is going to win men’s hearts around the world.
What beaches should we be heading to for 2012? I’m heading to Vietnam and Cambodia for my honeymoon in March – there’s such a diversity in these countries, from pristine beaches, dense rain forest and fascinating culture, not to mention delicious food. We’re trying to see and do a little of everything (including discovering some of the more hidden beaches on motorbike!). Lots of airlines have picked up on Vietnam being an exciting destination so it’s easier and more affordable than ever to get to, but best to go soon before it gets too touristy. The Northern lights are also meant to be incredible this year, so, if you fancy doing something a bit different why not head to Iceland. The black and white sandy beaches are an amazing site and not many people know the water is actually really quite warm, due to the thermal currents.
Quick fire round…
Sand or snow? Sand… obviously.
Style or substance? Substance with a dash of style for good measure.
Summit or sea? Sea
Detox or retox? I like to detox for the retox
Kindle or book? Books, I love the feel and smell of the paper, but given how much I travel I really should move onto a Kindle.
I was not aware of The Beach Tomato Shack’s online website. I went on it and it looks amazing. I normally do most of my swimwear browsing/shopping on Aqua Beachwear’s website, which is equally as nice and easy to browse. This one will definitely become one of my new favorites!