Handcrafted in Spain, AQVA Swimwear uses sustainable materials and timeless designs that celebrate all body types. For founder Cassandra Cabrera Gassmann, it’s the realization of a passion that has evolved from hospitality to entrepreneurship…

It’s almost summer – in the Northern Hemisphere at least – and for many Europeans that means it’s time for a beach or resort holiday to soak up the rays while taking a refreshing dip in the sea or swimming pool.

If you’re a reader whose swimwear drawer is looking a little jaded, there’s now an elegant, ethical and sustainable option in the form of AQVA Swimwear – a brand that’s so infused with the Mediterranean beach lifestyle you can almost taste the salt water when visiting its website.

“I was born and raised in Barcelona, right by the Mediterranean. Summers felt endless and I practically lived in a bikini since I was a child,” says company founder Cassandra Cabrera Gassmann, a class of 2019 graduate of our Master’s in Hospitality Business Leadership.

“Swimwear has always been a part of my life; but as I got older I started noticing a gap in the market. I saw an opportunity for products that are elegant and classy, but which are designed to be comfortable for ‘real’ women, not just the perfect ‘beach body’ stereotype of models you see when you visit a swimwear website.”

Confidence and usability are AQVA watchwords. Each piece is designed to take to the water, not just to be decorative on dry land, and the range is suited to all body types and ages of clientele.

“That’s our ethos – we call it ‘real swimwear for real women’ and it’s the heart of our brand,” Cassandra says.

A good grounding

This may all seem a far cry from the business of hospitality, but her studies at Glion and the time she spent working in the industry have given Cassandra an outlook that she says is beneficial to her new endeavor.

“My background in hospitality gave me a deep understanding of luxury, attention to detail and, most importantly, customer experience. When you work for a hotel, you are not just selling rooms, you are curating an experience, an emotion. This is exactly how I approach AQVA – it’s not just about selling swimwear; it is about how the woman feels when she wears it: confident, beautiful and at ease.”

That said, Cassandra’s pioneering spirit of entrepreneurship is an echo of her family’s exploits in the hotel business. Back in the day, Cassandra’s maternal grandfather opened the first hotel in the south of Tenerife, kick-starting the tourism business in that part of the island. And her mother is also a Glion alumna, with the family owning a number of hotels in Germany and Spain.

Although hotels are part of her DNA, the lure of creating something new, something different, was too strong. “That’s what entrepreneurship is, really. It’s a creative business because you are manufacturing a company out of nothing.”

It may be about creativity, but as any entrepreneur will tell you, the process can also be a hard grind. Having hatched the idea for AQVA in 2023, Cassandra began writing the business plan while holding down a corporate job in hospitality tech. As the plan started to take shape, the need to find the right fabric suppliers and manufacturers became paramount – a process complicated by the high standards of workmanship and sustainability she insisted on.

A bumpy ride

“At the beginning it was very bumpy because we went through something like seven manufacturers,” she admits. “It’s so difficult finding suppliers you can trust and who will sew your pieces and provide a certain level of quality to the timings you need. We went through hell with that – including having to throw out an entire collection!”

Thankfully, working in a demanding, faced-paced industry like hospitality had bred a high level of resilience in Cassandra. “In guest-facing environments, things rarely go as planned and you have to be adaptable, solutions-driven, and always one step ahead. That grounding has been invaluable to me in running my own brand.”

Obstacles having been overcome, the inaugural AQVA Swimwear range was duly launched ready for the 2024 summer season. Every element of that range – and this season’s – is made by hand in Barcelona, a conscious decision that doesn’t just help to ensure the highest quality standards, but which also supports artisans in Cassandra’s home region.

“Fast fashion has created a culture of mass production at the cost of ethics and quality. My brand is the opposite of that: every piece is made with intention and respect for the artisans behind it,” she says.

As previously noted, sustainability is at the core of the AQVA brand promise. The swimsuits and bikinis are made from high-quality regenerated nylon that is produced from recovered ocean waste, such as discarded fishing nets and plastic bottles. The products are placed in pouches made from leftover fabrics, while mailers and other packaging are made from cornstarch, which is 100% biodegradable and compostable.

Onwards and upwards

With everything in place, now comes what any entrepreneur will tell you is the toughest part: scaling up. For a clothing brand like AQVA, that means getting the products in front of as many potential customers as possible.

Much of the early running in this regard was made by Cassandra herself, selling directly at gyms, summer markets and other events as well as via the brand website. This direct, often face-to-face customer contact has not just contributed sales, it has also enabled Cassandra to take on board useful feedback, which the artisanal, low-run nature of the products means she can implement far more quickly and effectively than would be possible with a mass-produced range.

“The feedback I received last summer can be seen in the collection that I’ve launched for Summer 2025,” she says.

Today, as well as through its impressive website, AQVA sells through pop-ups, with this season’s schedule including stop-offs in New York, London and the Balearic Islands. Retail stockists have also been secured in Barcelona and Madrid, while Cassandra is also keen to develop partnerships with hotels and resorts.

“We are looking for partnerships with premium resort boutiques that align with AQVA’s values,” she notes. “By stocking our products, resorts and boutiques can offer their guests a thoroughly curated brand that embodies the beauty of the Mediterranean lifestyle.”

Cassandra also sees the potential for the AQVA brand to expand into other lifestyle products, such as cover-ups, as well as accessories. “Maybe even a resort collection? But always staying true to our values of sustainability and craftsmanship.

“My ambition is for AQVA to become a well-known brand, while retaining its exclusivity. I would love it to provide a sense of belonging to a community of strong, powerful women who love themselves the way they are, and which enables them to break away from the stigma of having to be perfect. I think it’s really important to create this emotional element, which goes beyond the basic product.”

And for her own entrepreneurial ambitions? Clearly there’s still plenty to achieve with AQVA, but Cassandra admits that her strong connection with the world of hospitality and real estate could see her returning to that space in future.

“Whether it is expanding AQVA, or creating something entirely new, one thing is certain: I will always be building projects with purpose, passion and a clear identity.”

• To discover more about AQVA Swimwear, visit the website