Seychellois-Belgian model Anicca Van Hollebeke to launch 'Koko-Swim' brand

Hollebeke will be launching her latest swimwear line Koko Swim inspired by her country of birth, Seychelles. (Anicca Van Hollebeke)

Seychellois-Belgian model Anicca Van Hollebeke will be launching her latest swimwear line "Koko Swim"  inspired by her country of birth, Seychelles, in the European summer season, which starts on June 21. 

"I have always had a passion for swimwear and having been born and raised in Seychelles, I grew up wearing bikinis," Van Hollebeke told SNA.

Van Hollebeke, 26, left Seychelles when she was 13 years old. She was 2^nd runner-up in Miss Belgium 2020 contest a year after she started her swimwear line. She was unable to fully focus on her brand as she was also studying at the time.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, she had to put everything on hold like the rest of the world and recently, she rebranded her swimwear line to "Koko Swim." 

The former Miss Liège and her mother were in Seychelles last week and met President, Wavel Ramkalawan. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

"I have been working on Koko Swim non-stop for almost a year now and I really cannot wait to start selling," she said.

Koko Swim is a sustainable brand, made of recycled fabric, with everything including the packaging being environmentally friendly.

The bikinis will be sold online in stores around Europe and also in pop-up stores in Belgium and are expected to be launched in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. 

"My goal is to sell in Seychelles as the brand is inspired by Seychelles. Once I have officially launched in Belgium, I will launch in Seychelles soon after," she added.

Koko Swim is a sustainable brand made of recycled fabric. (Anicca Van Hollebeke) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

The former Miss Liège was in Seychelles last week and met President, Wavel Ramkalawan and the discussion focused on tourism and her swimwear line. She also revealed to reporters that she would love to represent Seychelles on the international stage.

"We spoke about various things and one of the things I mentioned was my dream to represent Seychelles at the Miss Universe pageant sometime in the future," said Van Hollebeke.

She added that “each bikini will have the name of an island and we talked about how I will promote my bikini with Seychelles…My bikini when someone will wear it in whatever country they are, they will feel like they are in Seychelles.”

She was accompanied in Seychelles by her parents – her mother Mena Hollebeke née Fanchette, who is Seychellois, and her Belgian father Eric van Hollebeke, who used to work in Seychelles. The family left Seychelles in 2009.

Van Hollebeke was the winner of one of the categories of Top Model Belgium 2015 at the age of 18. She said in a previous interview with SNA that she discovered her love for modelling at the age of 17.