SDSU Designer Featured in Sports Illustrated

What do you get when you mix Latin roots, California sensibilities and a love for New York City? For Alejandra Boggiano, the answer was Solkissed Swimwear.

Born in Peru and having grown up in Chile and San Diego, Boggiano developed a love for fashion, the sun and the Pacific Ocean. From an early age she would flip through fashion magazines with dreams of one day seeing her designs on the pages.

In February 2014, those dreams were realized when Sports Illustrated released its annual Swimsuit Edition featuring Solkissed Swimwear on models Chanel Iman and Lily Aldridge of Victoria’s Secret fame.

One woman show

Boggiano graduated from San Diego State University in 2008 with degrees in Journalism and Italian. She moved to New York shortly thereafter to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology and work in public relations.

Solkissed Swimwear was brought to life during the late nights of Boggiano’s time in New York when she would leave work at 7 p.m. and work on Solkissed until 4 or 5 in the morning.

Boggiano’s busy schedule was not a far cry from her days at SDSU, where she made balancing her school, social and professional life a priority.

“At the end of the day, the real world is not all about being stuck inside reading a book. The real world is about having time to read the book and also being outside meeting people and making connections,” Boggiano said.

Homeland inspiration

Peru serves as a major source of inspiration for Boggiano in both her business and personal life.

Not only is her entire 2014 collection influenced by Peru, but her products are also manufactured there. Boggiano’s mother oversees the production of swimwear, made completely by Peruvian women working from home.

“We have created a working system that allows women to stay at home and work from their sewing machines. This allows them to take breaks, pick up their children from school, make lunch, do whatever they wish and still get the job done on their own time,” Boggiano said.

This process has helped Boggiano uphold quality control, innovatively create jobs and maintain a relationship with both her employees and native country.

Business savvy

Boggiano credits SDSU for providing her with the tools needed to become a successful business woman, even though her career path veered away from her original chosen field of study.

“I went to San Diego State University for Journalism. It is incredible how much of my major and job experience in journalism and public relations has been helpful toward the marketing of my business,” said Boggiano, who still does her own marketing for Solkissed.

Boggiano even recommends that students looking to venture into the fashion world first take a step back and learn about business.

“Fashion makes up only 30 to 40 percent of my yearly tasks. The rest of the time I spend managing my business,” Boggiano said.

All of this success has come within the first official year of business for Solkissed. Boggiano is always looking toward the future with hopes of expanding her company to include beachwear, children and men’s swimsuits and workout wear.