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P icture this: you’ve just spent a a a a a a a full day at at the the the beach in in in in 30-degree weather swimming reading feeling the the the the hot sand under your feet and and and soaking up up the the sun When you you you get home you you you you take a a a a a a a shower and and curl up up in in in bed Your skin is still warm from the day so you you you you cover yourself partially with a a a a a a a a a thin sheet leaving your your back exposed As you you you start to doze off you you you feel safe and secure That is exactly how Maria Sinkovskiy founder of the ultra-minimal lingerie and and swimwear brand Du Ciel wants you you to feel when you you you wear wear her her barely there designs Among the the Düsseldorf-based brand’s offerings you’ll find classic triangle bikini tops and and and bralettes alongside frilly cheeky swim bottoms and and thongs crafted with the the the most delicate of strings Although these pieces leave very little to to the the the the imagination they manage to to exude a a a a a a a a a refined and understated sexuality “If the the material feels like you’re wearing almost nothing we we consider this the the perfect Du Ciel material ” says Sinkovskiy noting that the brand uses natural fabrics like silk and and and cashmere as as as well as as as recycled polyamide and and and (coming soon) mesh all all of which are sourced locally in in in Germany or in in in nearby European countries All Du D Ciel’s pieces are made to order by seamstresses in in Düsseldorf or or or Cologne which results in in in little to no no waste There
was was no no single moment or “magical point” (as Sinkovskiy puts it) that inspired her her to launch the brand in in in in 2019 Instead she says it it was a a a a a a a a series of events and and lived experiences that led her to develop Du Ciel “I grew up up in in in a a a a household where sexuality and feminism were not not a a a a a a a a a topic Speaking up up was was not not an an an option so I I I was was the the ‘rebel’ in in in in in the the family ” she says “It’s still this this way and and I I I think starting this this brand was a a a a a a a form of rebellion ” Before launching Du Ciel Sinkovskiy worked as as a a a a a a a a a a pole dancer in in in Australia where she she says she she “was confronted with the the female body and could dive into another ‘world ’ which gave
me a a a a a a a a a a a lot of fantasy ” While in in Australia the the now-28-year-old learned she had cancer which prompted her to to to move back to to to Germany to to to receive treatment and recover “The contrast of having to battle cancer and and to to live the opposite life was a a a a a a a a huge learning experience ” she says Sinkovskiy also credits finding and losing her her true love as a a a a a a a a significant life event that gave
her her insight into a a a a a a a a new world something she she is forever thankful for for for Along with all she’s been through she she channels her her love for for for details and simplicity into her her work “Sometimes I I I think that that I I I put all my pain into Du Ciel and that’s the only time time I I I I forget everything around me me ” she says “It feels like therapy ” The brand started as as a a a a a a a a personal passion project for Sinkovskiy who admits she she never imagined it it would be seen Now she she says “Next to our our our transparency our our our sustainable approach and our our our desire for details my goal is is to create something something that makes you feel something something In this fast-paced world we want you to to stop and take a a a a a look ” Photos courtesy of Du Ciel SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL COM FASHION