Swimwear Designer Kishara Marie & the Grace to Start Again
FROM @KISHARAMARIE
“If you love something, you find your way back to it.”
In Atlanta’s vibrant fashion scene, Kishara Marie is impossible to ignore. Her custom denim designs and one-of-a-kind pieces caught the eye of major artists like Young Thug and built a devoted local following. Known for transforming secondhand finds into standout looks, she brought luxury out of thrift stores and into the spotlight. But what has always set Kishara apart isn’t just what she makes. It’s how she moves. Quietly. Boldly. Like someone who’s already survived the fire and is designing what comes after.
But it wasn’t just the jeans that caught us. It was the woman behind them.
Kishara isn’t just a designer. She’s an archetype in motion. A creative reshaping herself while raising a daughter, rebuilding from betrayal, and returning to the thing she loves most: making clothes with meaning. Her latest move is a new swimwear line. This time, on her terms.
“I’ve always been the girl who gets sad and gets in her bag,” she tells us. “But I am still sad. So you know…”
That’s where this portrait begins. Not with a polished comeback. With the mess, the mourning, and the grace it takes to start again while the wounds are still fresh.
She’s talking about swimwear, but she could be talking about anything: herself, her craft, her confidence. It’s been years since she made bikinis from scratch and sold them through word-of-mouth. Back then, she made everything by hand. There was no website. No team. Just scissors, vision, and a sense that if she didn’t move, she’d unravel.
Now, she’s moving differently.
FROM @KISHARAMARIE
Her new swimwear line isn’t about catching up but catching her breath. The pieces are pre-made and inclusive, ranging from XS to XL, with plans to go up to 3XL. Every order comes with a handwritten note. The collection, in some ways, is launching from heartbreak. Kishara says she has lost so much but hasn’t lost herself.
“I was mad I didn’t have the same mindset I used to,” she says. “But I realized I’m not supposed to. I’m evolving. I’m not going to be that girl again. I’ll be better.”
That shift didn’t come easily. Kishara walked away from swimwear after a collaboration that left her uncredited and unpaid. “I gave up,” she says. “It left such a bad taste in my mouth.” It wasn’t until she became a mother, left an abusive relationship, and started grieving the person she used to be that she felt ready to return. She came back not out of pressure, but out of love.
Out of love for her child, herself, and those who kept tagging her name when she went quiet.
“If you love something, you find your way back to it,” she says.
FROM @KISHARAMARIE
Every choice in this chapter carries intention. She wakes up at 5 a.m. now. Not to be productive, but to be present. “There’s something rewarding about making myself breakfast while my daughter’s asleep,” she says. “It feels like self-care. Like I’m at a spa.”
She’s learning that self-care isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes it’s cooking solo. Sometimes it’s saying no. Sometimes it’s sitting in loneliness and choosing yourself anyway.
“Celebrate the itty-bitty wins. If you sold two things, that’s two more people who didn’t know you before. That’s something.”
The swimwear designs reflect that rebirth. They are not made to chase trends—they are intentional. They are cheeky and comfortable, bold and wearable. Maybe they come with sarongs, maybe even waist beads. She is exploring more personal touches for each package. “Just little ways to say thank you,” she says, " because my community has carried me.”
Her love for her supporters comes through as she talks. She understands what it means for the ones who reposted her, bought her pieces, and gave her a second chance. “I’m not self-made,” she says. “I’ve had so many people pour into me. This launch is my way to pour back.”
It is also her way of reclaiming something she almost lost: her voice, vision, and sense of worth.
“People think starting over means you're back at zero,” she says. “But you're not. You're starting from knowledge. You're starting from a skill. You're starting again. Not from scratch, but from wisdom.”
FROM @KISHARAMARIE
So, what does grace to start again really mean?
For Kishara, it means grieving who you used to be and choosing to move anyway. It means launching something new after something old almost broke you. It means waking up before sunrise, cooking for yourself, and still believing that maybe, just maybe, Rihanna will wear your design.
“Celebrate the itty-bitty wins. If you sold two things, that’s two more people who didn’t know you before. That’s something,” Kishara mentions, explaining why, most importantly, the grace to start again means to keep going.
At this moment, Kishara's next step after starting again is pouring into the quality and slowness of producing her first line and making pieces that bring out everyone’s inner strength.
" I want people to feel confident,” she says. “To feel seen. I want them to open the package and feel loved before putting it on.”
Kishara Marie is not just designing swimwear. She’s designing reminders that sadness can be fuel and that beauty begins with self-recognition. Grace is not her weakness. Grace is how she’s still standing.
And she’s just getting started.