‘MY TOGS SAVE LIVES'... and they're made of plastic bottles!

This Nelson designer is making waves with her ethical swimwear

- Donna Fleming

Sometimes you’ve just got to take a leap of faith – that’s a mantra Sara Cohen lives by. Twice now, the Nelson resident has taken a chance, tapped into her creative side and started a business when times have got tough.

Her latest initiative, making sustainable swimwear with a high level of sun protection, fulfils her ambition to do something that makes a difference. The British-born entrepreneur tells Woman’s Day, “I wanted to do something I believed in that helped others and I thought, ‘Well, I have nothing to lose. Why not go for it?’”

Sara’s first leap of faith came 10 years ago, following the death of her mother. “I really needed to do something different,” says Sara, 46, who’d spent 20 years working in marketing.

“So I borrowed the family campervan and took myself off on a two-month sabbatical, travelling around England taking pictures. I taught myself how to use Photoshop and how to design prints from the photos I had taken, which were mostly of nature.”

Her designs were then printed onto fabric and made into garments sold under the brand Sara C.

“People thought I was crazy,” she admits. “I gave up a very good career and jumped into fashion, which I really knew nothing about. I made a lot of mistakes, but I also had a lot of successes. I really enjoyed being creative and I learned a lot about the fashion industry.”