If it seems, these days, that everyone is either idling on a boat or sprawled out in a striped cabana, Aperol spritz in hand, that’s because they are—with a glamorous Instagram post to prove it. Getaway travel is up, considerably. Net-a-porter reports that its customers take an average of 11 holidays a year; as a result, the online retailer has added a vacation shop to its offerings. The category is not seasonal, but permanent.
“People have started to realize the value of enjoying life,” says Tabula Rasa’s Emily Diamandis, who is among a niche group of fashion designers focusing on laid-back, boho clothes for the beach-bound. Diamandis, who was born in Great Britain and now lives in New York, grew up traveling—“My mum was always pulling me up the Himalayas,” she notes—and her three-year-old luxe lifestyle brand targets similarly adventurous and eccentric spirits. “I wasn’t interested in doing just another fashion label,” says the designer, whose fall collection of macramé jackets and knitted one-shoulder evening dresses is a tribute to the handiwork of Mongolia’s nomadic culture. “I wanted it to be more dynamic.”
Globetrotters love to wear their wanderlust on their sleeve, and, like Tabula Rasa, many of these resort-friendly brands have earned extra points for going local. Fashion insiders worked themselves into a frenzy last summer over the Ukrainian label Vita Kin’s vyshyvanka frocks, which are inspired by traditional embroidered garments. March 11, a similar line designed by a pair of New York–based Ukranians, is also working overtime to fulfill its hefty retail orders. “Women love these dresses, because they’re all they need on vacation,” cofounder Robert Mishchenko says. “You can wear them to the beach or a restaurant, and you always feel beautiful thanks to the amazing embroidery.”