Leigh Ann Cobb and Hannah Yesmunt will be the first to tell you they know nothing about the swimwear industry.
That makes their mission to disrupt it all the more fascinating.
Cobb and Yesmunt are the co-creators of Saint Andro, a Grand Rapids-based fashion startup pushing the boundaries of what swimwear can look and feel like and who it’s for. For the past year-and-a-half, the pair have been exploring, researching, prototyping—and, as of this month, launching—a collection of androgynous swimwear that emphasizes practicality over chic, ethics over profit and personalization over fast fashion trends.
Both are coming to the industry as outsiders. Yesmunt holds a degree in French language from Grand Valley State University and works as a logistics specialist for Wolverine Worldwide. Cobb is a commercial photographer who graduated from Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing with a