Affordable luxury for every body TEXT: XANDRA BOERSMA | PHOTOS: ANI ANI BEACHWEAR
Bikini shopping can be a tricky experience: nothing looks quite right, the top fits, but the bottom does not… Then when you do find just the right size bikini, it comes with an expensive price tag. But not if you choose a piece from Ani Ani, a brand that guarantees high quality, value for your money and a perfect fit thanks to the mix and match philosophy. The aforementioned predicament is one of the reasons Ani Muradian-Willekes launched her company, Ani Ani. “It used to take forever to find the perfect bikini,” she explains. “If I was lucky, I found it somewhere abroad. But even then, the 10 | Issue 52 | April 2018
bottom often had to be altered because its size didn’t match the top. I never found exactly what I wanted.”
Businesswoman As an Armenian woman born in Baghdad, Muradian-Willekes came to the Netherlands when she was 15 years old. Having gained an academic qualification in business economics, Ani decided to opt for fashion entrepreneurship and founded her own company Ani Ani. “Creating the perfectly fitting bikini is Ani Ani’s passion. Fashionable beachwear made of top-quality materials, with a unique mix and match formula. Ani Ani means ‘reflection’ in Hawaiian. Our
beachwear must be the reflection of your ideal image.” As an entrepreneur she is able to use her knowledge of marketing and economics, but also her creativity in designing. “Even though I knew nothing about the world of fashion, let alone swimwear, Ani Ani thrived through the economic crisis and has been growing fast over the years.”
Creating a European product A true businesswoman, MuradianWillekes started everything from scratch – that was where her education came in handy. “I knew no one, I had no network whatsoever. For 10 months I analysed