(201) Gold Coast May 2016 | Page 36

Roundup Fertile New Ground Four area companies find a niche in the fashion market 34 MAY 2016 (201) GOLD COAST bud & june, Weehawken A former women’s fashion designer in New York City, Buffalo native and beach lover Melissa Cassidy launched bud & june, a line of boys swimwear, in April 2015. A mother of two young boys, she noticed that “all of the boys at the beach were wearing board shorts and walking around like cowboys trying to keep up their sagging shorts,” Cassidy says. “Their movements were restricted by the long length and an uncomfortable excess of wet fabric just hanging off their bodies.” Her quest to find better-fitting swimwear for her sons, now 2 and 5, led to her begin testing customprinted Italian fabrics and patterns for her own line of swimwear, which includes swim shorts, rash guards and swim pants in sizes 18 months to 6 years old. “The latest additions are formfitting swim pants that are just adorable,” she says of the lightweight, quick-drying, all-purpose pant that offers 50+ SPF. Currently, the collection, which is made exclusively in New Jersey, is available online at budandjune.com and, by September 2016, Cassidy expects her fall resort line to be in tri-state area boutiques and specialty stores. The line is named for Cassidy’s grandparents, who were “world travelers and great adventurers; they were always coming back with wonderful stories from their travels and misadventures on the road,” she smiles. “Right now, we’re fulfilling the ‘bud’ part of our name, and plans are in the works for a line for swimwear for little girls so we can fulfill the ‘june’ part, as well.” MOM: COURTESY OF MARY LAUREN/@MARYLAUREN; SWIMWEAR: COURTESY OF BUD & JUNE N ew Jersey’s Gold Coast is fast becoming a hotbed of high fashion, with an array of startups finding fertile ground for their inspired takes on everything from menswear to swimwear. All the activity delights Desha L. Jackson, the Jersey City attorney who founded and coordinates Jersey City Fashion Week. Now in its fifth year, the five-day event shines the spotlight on fashion and the community while raising funds for local charities that support the mission of her Give To Live Community Foundation. In 2015, proceeds from Jersey City Fashion Week were donated to Covenant House, Habitat for Humanity Hudson County and Hope House, a program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark. Tentatively scheduled Sept. 21-25 at locations throughout the city, the 2016 theme is Fashion Festival: Celebrating Five Years of Fashion, Entertainment and Community. (201) Gold Coast caught up with four emerging talents – in Hoboken, Jersey City and Weehawken – who are putting their stamp on modern fashion. WRITTEN BY BROOKE PERRY