Meet the Monokini 2.0

It’s officially summer! Of course this means it’s time for pool days, beach trips, and the wonderful experience of getting into last year’s swimsuit. Now finding the right bikini, tankini, trunks, or one-piece can be a traumatic experience for anyone. However, women recovering or still fighting/beating-the-snot-out-of breast cancer face greater obstacles at the bathing suit rack than “does this top go with this bottom?” The main cause is that standard treatment for breast cancer include lumpectomies, single or bilateral mastectomies leaving women with uneven chests and long scars. Unfortunately, reconstructive surgery remains financially out of reach for many women since several insurance companies still do not cover the procedure.

Now, mastectomy patients have a new option: The Monokini 2.0.

Creator Katriina Haikala and designer-business partner Vilma Metter produced two of the suits which highlight the scars of mastectomy patients while devising an beautiful and functional swimsuit.  They recruited  seven other designers to complete the line for the Kickstarter project.  Haikala aptly sums up the company’s goal in this quote from the Daily News,

“You can be sexy, beautiful and feel whole, (like a) total woman, with or without breasts…You are allowed to feel good about yourself, even though society thinks you are imperfect. You are not.”