Today we’d like to introduce you to Aude Harris.
Hi Aude, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my brand during my final year of undergraduate studies in 2015. Throughout college, I modeled, traveled extensively, and maintained a strong passion for fitness. I wanted to create something that combined all the things I loved into one meaningful brand that reflected who I was and what I felt was missing in the market after graduation.
In December 2015, I took my first trip back home to my birth country, Ivory Coast, and that experience changed everything for me. Being immersed in the culture, the people, the fashion, and the energy of the country gave me a deep sense of inspiration and connection to my roots. It was the first time I truly experienced Ivory Coast beyond stories, and it sparked a creative vision that would later become AudeSwim.
I wanted to build something that tied together my love for my country, fitness, modeling, travel, and the arts into one brand. At the time, there were very few brands creating swimwear with custom African-inspired prints and fabrics in the way I envisioned. I saw an opportunity to create something bold, unique, and culturally inspired while bringing representation and storytelling into the swimwear space.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing in life is truly a smooth road. Building something meaningful takes hard work, dedication, resilience, faith, and community support. The journey of building AudeSwim has been one that touches my heart deeply every time I tell my story. It has been unpredictable in many ways, but it has also drawn me closer to God and strengthened me as both a woman and entrepreneur.
Even writing about this journey gives me flashbacks of everything it took to get here. After graduating, I moved to Miami without really knowing anyone, but I carried a strong belief that I was going to make a name for my brand. I was already the face of AudeSwim and had experience modeling before launching the company, so I had built a supportive audience that believed in me from the beginning.
However, entrepreneurship comes with many challenges that people do not always see. There are moments when you question yourself, moments when things feel uncertain, and moments when you compare your journey to other brands that may appear to be moving faster or achieving more success. Comparison can easily make you feel like you are behind, especially in the age of social media where everyone’s highlights are constantly visible.
Over the years, I have learned that no two business journeys are the same. Every brand has its own timing, struggles, lessons, and purpose. For me, the process of building AudeSwim has been about more than swimwear. It has been about representation, culture, creativity, personal growth, and staying faithful even during difficult seasons. Every setback, sacrifice, and challenge has shaped the brand into what it is today and continues to remind me why I started in the first place.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am the founder and creative director of AudeSwim, an African-inspired swimwear brand that blends culture, fashion, and lifestyle storytelling. My work sits at the intersection of design, modeling, travel, and entrepreneurship, with a strong focus on creating pieces that feel both expressive and deeply connected to identity.
I specialize in designing swimwear that incorporates custom African-inspired prints and fabrics, while also directing the brand’s overall creative vision, campaigns, and storytelling. AudeSwim is more than just swimwear, it is a representation of culture, confidence, and individuality. Through my background in modeling and travel, I bring a visual and experiential approach to how the brand is presented, from photoshoots to campaigns to digital storytelling.
What I am most known for is building a brand that reflects authenticity and cultural inspiration in a space where it was not widely represented when I began. From the beginning, my goal was to create something that merged my love for my birth country, Ivory Coast, my passion for fitness, my experience in modeling, and my appreciation for art and global culture.
What sets me apart is that AudeSwim was not created from a trend it was created from lived experience and personal identity. I started the brand while still in undergrad, inspired by my first trip back home to Ivory Coast and a desire to see more representation of African-inspired design in swimwear. Every collection and creative direction is rooted in storytelling, heritage, and purpose.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
One thing I always want to emphasize is that AudeSwim has been so much more than a business for me, it has been a gateway into opportunities, growth, and purpose that I never fully imagined when I first started. It has opened doors that I once thought were out of reach and has continued to shape the direction of my life in powerful ways.
Through the journey of building this brand, I have been able to expand my education by going back to grad school, which was another major milestone for me personally.
Balancing entrepreneurship and academics has challenged me, but it has also reinforced my belief that I am capable of building multiple paths at once. Everything I am learning academically also feeds back into how I think, operate, and grow AudeSwim as a brand.
AudeSwim continues to be the foundation that connects all parts of my life my creativity, my culture, my discipline, and my ambition. It is a reminder that purpose does not always follow a straight line. Sometimes your passion opens doors that lead you into rooms you never expected, but were always meant for you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.audeswim.com
- Instagram: @audeswim
- Facebook: @audeswim
- Youtube: @audeswim
- Other: TikTok @audeswim
