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RENAY Wells is riding a new wave in beach fashion.
As the creative director of Gold Coast brand Maneater Swimwear, Wells has built her company to service an entire market of water-bound ladies who love a little risk.
Maneater designs are touted as sexy, sultry and commercially appealing to women of confidence, with many of the head-turning outfits gracing the covers of iconic men's magazines including Playboy, Maxim and Zoo Weekly.
Wells says recent social media success and international recognition has brought her closer to the goal of becoming the sexiest boutique swimwear brand in the world.
"Now with such a great social media presence, the business has completely changed since I started in 2010," says Wells.
"On Instagram and Snapchat, girls will post a selfie wearing our product and in the next minute I have another 2000 followers. It's making it go crazy."
What initially began as a local hobby business has now gone global, with Wells frequenting major events and trade shows around the world including the Miami Swim Show held in Florida.
"The Swim Show is the biggest swimwear trade show in the world, and because this company is just me doing my thing I was able to go over with all my best samples," says Wells.
"Everyone was telling me that they loved the idea and the brand, so I was asked to go back next year."
Maneater has also become a favourite among the famous, grabbing the attention of names such as UK socialite Holly Hagan and alternative model Becky Holt.
Before becoming the original 'maneater' in 2010, Wells designed for numerous companies including Cult, 2Chillies Swimwear and Hot Tuna, a company previously directed by international supermodel Elle Macpherson.
The self-confessed beach bum has always aimed to capture the 'Baywatch' essence she grew up with, securing a fashion niche to let her creativity flow.
"The business was born from just doing something creative and fun," says Wells.
"I wanted to follow along the lines of Pamela Anderson and the Carmen Electra style, targeting those types of girls because a lot of my contacts were in the men's magazine industry.
"It was good to move out of commercial blasé designs to something where I got to be as naughty as I wanted for those sorts of markets."
Maneater will have a male-focused companion in the coming weeks when Wells launches Rogue Swimwear, a brand grabbing the Ibiza party crowd image for men's European-style beach fashion.
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