Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California

Tiny Atlas Quarterly’s Jill Lindenbaum catches up with Cynthia Rowley to talk about all water.

TINY ATLAS QUARTERLY: If you could close your eyes and be at any beach right now, where are you?

CYNTHIA ROWLEY: I live for the beach, especially if there’s a wave. From Montauk to Morocco to Mauritius, I’ve visited so many beauties but there’s still so many more that I want to see: Goa, remote spots in Indonesia, and Honolulu—we’re opening a store there which makes for a good excuse for a beach visit!

TAQ: What’s a neighborhood spot that makes you feel like you’re at the beach?

CR: A NYC surf shop called Saturdays Surf.

TAQ: What waterfront destination featured in a film lured you to that place?

CR: The Talented Mr. Ripley inspired me to sail the Mediterranean on a giant sailboat (with a happier ending).

TAQ: What’s your favorite cliffside vista from a beach?

CR: The cliffs in the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland are unbelievable.

TAQ: What trip are your kids asking to go on?

CR: Costa Rica and Tobago—good surf and lots of friends.

TAQ: Where did you teach your girls to surf?

CR: My husband started teaching my oldest daughter and ended up with five stitches in his head, so luckily we travel to a lot of great surf spots and they’ve just picked it up along the way.

TAQ: When is your ideal time of day on the water?

CR: I’ve never been one for dawn patrol, but any other time of day is perfect.

TAQ: Where is your favorite place to be underwater?

CR: My best and scariest scuba diving trips have been in Mexico and Australia.

TAQ: A beachside cocktail that always does the trick?

CR: An ice cold local beer.

TAQ: What beachside city and its fashion inspire you?

CR: I spend a lot of time in Japan and try to get away to the beach if possible. It’s called Kamakura.

TAQ: Besides NY, is there anywhere else you would like to live?

CR: If I didn’t live in New York, I would go completely off the grid.

TAQ: Do your travels directly influence your collections?

CR: They never directly influence, but just being out of the studio on a big adventure frees my mind and I go back refreshed and ready for action.

TAQ: Do you plan field research beach trips?

CR: Between big adventures, we like to take a lot of small trips. Even on a long weekend we’ve gone to the Redwood Forest (nearby Bolinas is a great beach) or Charleston, SC, a great city with a great beach as well. I always take a new rashguard, swim, or wetsuit to test run.

TAQ: If you could hold your next show at a beach, where would it be?

CR: Zanzibar. It would be so easy to cast local beautiful women.

TAQ: Who is your dream girl in your wetsuits?

CR: I’ve seen Julia Roberts in our wetsuits and that’s amazing, but I get super psyched when I see a bunch of girls in Montauk wearing the suits in the water.

TAQ: Favorite beach to wake up in, hotel or home?

CR: If you’re traveling on a boat it’s magical to go to sleep in one place and wake up in another.

Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California

Contributors

Photographer
Emily Nathan
HAIR & MAKEUP
Tricia Turner
PRODUCER
Amy Guittard
SPECIAL THANKS
Ujjwal Sarin
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Emily Nathan, Lake Tahoe, California