Francesca Aiello

Francesca Aiello is the American designer who started the swimwear label Frankies Bikinis with her mother, Mimi Aiello, at their family home in Malibu in 2012. She leads design for the brand, which grew from custom bikinis into a swim, knitwear and activewear business sold through its own site and large retailers.

A mother-daughter start in Malibu, 2012

Aiello grew up in Malibu, and the company's own account of her early life is mostly water: junior lifeguard summers, surfing and water polo practice. The founding story is specific. As a teenager she saw a woman on the beach in a skimpy bikini of a kind she could not find in any shop, so she began designing and sewing her own. Friends asked for custom pieces, and the custom orders became a company.

Her mother encouraged the idea and became her partner in it. The brand presents Frankies as a mother-daughter founding, and describes Mimi as Francesca's closest collaborator. Earlier versions of this page gave Francesca sole credit, put her age at seventeen and said the company had gone public through a SPAC merger. None of those claims is supported by the sources checked here, and they are dropped.

Swimwear sold through Instagram

Aiello opened the brand's Instagram account early in the platform's life. A bikini photographs well on a beach and almost nowhere else, which made the app an ideal shop window for a small swim label, and the account built an audience before the brand had wholesale accounts.

The company lists three milestones from her early years: she became the youngest designer ever to show at Miami Swim Week, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and Frankies won Fashion Collaboration of the Year at the Daily Front Row awards.

Francesca Aiello's collaboration model

Much of the label's profile comes from capsule collections with well-known women, among them Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, Pamela Anderson, Sydney Sweeney, Naomi Osaka, Hailee Steinfeld and Sofia Richie. The model Tina Kunakey fronted the Spring 2025 "Beach Baby" campaign, and in April 2026 the singer Jennie of Blackpink launched a Frankies collection mixing swimwear with everyday clothes. Each capsule gets its own launch, which keeps a seasonal product in the news all year.

What the bikini looks like

The core product is still the small two-piece of the founding story. In this encyclopedia's terms it runs from the triangle bra top to the side-tie and cheeky bottom. From swim, Aiello extended the range into ready-to-wear, knits and activewear.

The retail list shows how far the custom orders have traveled. Frankies is stocked by Victoria's Secret, Revolve, SSENSE, Free People, Kith and Bloomingdale's, a spread from mall lingerie to streetwear to department store.

Last updated October 7, 2026