It’s not easy being the CEO of a Finnish swimwear brand. Both Salla Maisonlahti, cofounder of Halla Halla, and Laura Saarinen, founder of Lilja the Label, have the same question topping their FAQ lists: Aren’t your summers really short?
“First: Finns know how to make the most of every season, so people wear swimwear all year round,” Maisonlahti says. “And second: we don’t only sell swimwear to Finns. It’s always summer somewhere!”
Saarinen, too, points out that Finland has a wonderfully – and exceptionally – diverse swimwear culture.
“Our sauna culture as well as our ice swimming and cold-water swimming culture ensure that for us, swimwear isn’t just for summer and travel,” she says. “That’s the message we want to take abroad, too.”
And the message has indeed travelled. Halla Halla ships its products all around the world, although Finland remains its strongest market. For Lilja the Label, 80 percent of sales are international, with the biggest customer base in Scandinavia and German-speaking Europe.
Sustainability as the guiding principle
Many Lilja the Label products are adjustable, so that slight changes in body size don’t need to mean buying new swimwear.Photo: Anna Kozhemyakina / Lilja the Label
For Halla Halla and Lilja the Label, sustainability is a central part of their approach to design and manufacturing. Their products are made of Econyl, a fabric made from different types of nylon waste, such as discarded fishing nets. Whenever possible, both brands make their swimwear reversible, so customers essentially get two styles in one product.
Lilja the Label’s products are manufactured in Portugal, and Halla Halla collaborates with a factory in Bali, Indonesia. Maisonlahti’s cofounder Hanna Chalvet lives in the area and visits the facility on a weekly basis.
Halla Halla products can be spotted on dry land as well, as the colourful prints make for great summer festival gear.Photo: Halla Halla
“Sustainability is like an umbrella on top of everything we do, be it what happens in our Helsinki shop or what we pack our products in,” Maisonlahti explains.
Saarinen says that Lilja the Label focuses on neutral colours, classic designs and adjustability. This way, the swimwear won’t go out of fashion and can adapt to some changes in body size.
Although sustainability is the backbone of every decision Saarinen makes as the CEO, the core of Lilja the Label’s mission is to make excellent swimwear.
“It’s not enough to be as sustainable as possible. We also want our products to be as good as possible,” she says. “Swimwear is intimate and sensitive, as people are rarely as exposed in public as they are when they wear a swimsuit. We want them to be so good that people want to put them on again and again.”
Both brands also want to serve various purposes. All three businesswomen are avid surfers, so Halla Halla and Lilja the Label want to provide for those who need their outfits to suit demanding water sports; and those looking for good times and minimal tan lines can go for less coverage. The products aren’t strictly for water-based activities either: Maisonlahti frequently spots Halla Halla products on people doing yoga or partying at festivals.
Creating space for community
Lilja the Label has taken its swim clubs abroad, spreading the word about cold-water swimming.Photo: Fiia Ketonen / Lilja the Label
Both Halla Halla and Lilja the Label are also keen to create occasions for putting on swimwear. Halla Halla has a set of sauna discos – yes, discos in a sauna – lined up for the coming summer.
“It’s a playful new concept where sauna culture meets music and socialising,” Maisonlahti says. “Inspired by similar events trending across Europe, the idea is simple: heat, good music and people coming together to have fun in a uniquely Nordic way.”
Lilja the Label has organised swim clubs both in Finland and abroad, inviting locals in different cities to get together for cold-water swimming and to get to know the brand.
“As our business is mostly digital, we wanted to find a way to connect with our customers,” Saarinen says. “Our swim clubs have been a powerful way of meeting clients and bringing a physical element to our brand.”
Even in neighbouring countries, Finnish sauna culture seems to have an almost mystical element to it. Saarinen has noticed that people taking part in swim clubs have plenty of interest in and questions about sauna etiquette and all the dos and don’ts.
“We’ve ended up becoming sauna and cold-water swimming ambassadors abroad, which is of course really lovely,” she says. “But we’ve also noticed how much people are longing for community and genuine encounters.”
The best feedback Saarinen has received is when people tell her that they’ve become friends with people they’ve met at Lilja the Label’s swim clubs.
“It feels so valuable that we’ve been able to create a space for encounters that goes way beyond swimwear.”
Text by Anne Salomäki, April 2026
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