Anyone with the financial means to do so can book a plane ticket and travel. Hopping from country to country without making an effort to understand the nuances of different international perspectives cannot allow an individual to claim being cultured. In the case of Sarah Mark, not only does she have nuanced, cultural perspectives from her travels – but she has also created a beautiful brand, Golden Girl Swim, that incorporates her colorful outlook on life into equally colorful swimwear pieces. Though she values multiculturalism, everything Sarah designs reflects the spirit of her beloved land of Trinidad & Tobago.
Before Sarah began designing swimwear, her first creative aspiration was to be a recording artist. In 2016, Sarah Mark penned and recorded her debut single which became a Billboard Top 40 song – a female liberation anthem entitled “Tun Up”. The track peaked at #29 and spent 17 weeks on the Canadian Billboard charts. She achieved this success shortly after graduating from Durham College in Canada, with a Major in Music Business Administration. Sarah’s inclination towards entrepreneurship started from there, but her creative appetite hungered for more avenues of expression.
Sarah is a deeply conceptual creative entrepreneur, and one of the unique selling points of Golden Girl Swim is how she names the pieces. Sarah names a lot of her pieces after specific cities/countries around the world that inspire her. There is always congruence between the color, print and design of the pieces that correlates to some associative quality about the country or city that the swimsuit is named after. A perfect example of this is the ‘Thira’ swimsuit. “Thira” is the ancient name for the sophisticated island of Santorini, in Greece. ‘Thira’ is a modest, conservative monokini-style swimsuit which perfectly aligns with history and its namesake. Of course, she could have just named it ‘Santorini’, but Sarah Mark is remarkably cultured and it’s just not in her nature to brand her products thoughtlessly.
More than just being cultured, Sarah’s passion for beauty, cosmetics and personal care extends beyond the confines of just Golden Girl Swim. Being a serial entrepreneur, Sarah was compelled to start another company, Lashes by Sarah M, in Antigua & Barbuda that focuses on doing classic lash extensions for the daring Caribbean woman. Even though Sarah has adjusted well to the pristine aesthetics of Antigua, she has never severed ties from her Trinidadian roots and she starts our conversation by expressing how much she missed home, especially with Christmas around the corner.
She stated reminiscently, “I miss the spirit of Christmas that you feel in Trinidad. Trinidad is very festive when it comes to Christmas and you don’t feel that everywhere. I miss the Christmas food as well… the Pastelles, Ponche de crême, Sweet Bread…ugh, I miss all those things! Of course I’m going to sort myself out here in Antigua and I’m still going to organize all those things, but there is nothing like being home and being engulfed in all the factors that make you feel that Trini Christmas spirit.”
Sarah has visited many countries but has lived in five – St. Vincent, Barbados, Antigua, Dubai and Canada. Each stint in the different countries granted her unique perspectives, but when asked where influenced her work the most she was unequivocal that it was the Caribbean . She said, “I really enjoyed Dubai but the Caribbean is my favorite place, really. I can do the things that I need to do and want to do. My swimwear and my music is very vibrant and colorful. I believe that’s very reflective of the Caribbean – not only the beautiful water we are surrounded by, but us as a people. We are radiant, positive people who are so warm and welcoming. Our culture and our lifestyle is what influences me in my entrepreneurship, music and design work.”
When we quizzed Sarah a bit about her brand philosophy, she wasn’t hesitant in letting us know what she truly intends to emote with Golden Girl Swim. She boldly asserted: “When I say ‘Golden’, it’s about being confident. Think about what gold is – it’s valuable and radiant, that’s why everyone wants it…being ‘Golden’ is about being the most beautiful version of you inside and out . That confidence and inner beauty from within is what really makes an individual golden.” Sarah’s brand philosophy is not grounded in naivety and she does acknowledge that: “We all have our self-esteem issues and our insecurities. I have them, we all do. I just wanted to build a brand in swimwear that makes women feel empowered, confident and golden. You look good and you feel good – that’s what its about.“
As Sarah acknowledged the struggles she and other women have had with self-esteem, she closes with a poignant encouragement to women who are combatting these personal issues. She states: “Honestly, self-care and having that me-time and self-love time is very important. You have to look out for yourself and take care of that first. Your physical health, mental health and overall well-being comes before anything else. You are your biggest and your longest commitment! Make sure your mind, heart and soul are happy places to be. Especially now when we can all witness the dire impacts of this pandemic – the lives being lost, and how important health really is. Everyday counts! We all have cheat days and bad days but in the end, if you start making strides towards self-care, its going to count down the road. It’s good to start now because you don’t know if tomorrow is promised and procrastination is counter-productive. Trust me, the little changes will add up.”
