You might think Brazil is better when you think of bikinis, and the waxes that go with, but Diana Delgado, 29, a new bikini designer on O'ahu's North Shore, is turning thoughts toward Peru.

Delgado's path to creating her first collection has been a crooked one. She was raised in Peru by a Japanese mother and Peruvian father, then after graduating from high school in Lima, she traveled the world. "I've always been a nomad," she said.

Her mother was a designer and manufacturer of school uniforms, but Delgado originally had other aspirations. After high school, she thought she wanted to be an actress, so she moved to California and took drama classes. That didn't last long. She tried classes relating to airlines and the travel industry. For a while, she threw pots in ceramic classes. It was at Orange Coast Community College that she discovered fashion design. However, a sketching class, in which she said she was less than a stellar student, discouraged her, and she became a liberal arts major. It wasn't until a four-month trip to Europe opened her eyes to the fashion world from a different perspective that she decided to tackle it again, this time in New York. But several months at the Wood-Tobé Coburn School of Fashion were a wash, she said: "It just wasn't the right choice for me."

MAKING HAWAI'I HOME

What was the right choice? As it turns out, Hawai'i was the right choice. Delgado initially followed her boyfriend, surfer Jonathan DesRoches, to Hawai'i, where they got engaged and she found her professional destiny in the fashion technology program at Honolulu Community College. "I took the swimsuit class and fell in love with it." The head of the department, Joy Nagaue, encouraged her to pursue swimwear after her graduation in 2007.

Although Delgado learned many skills (pattern making, grading, tailoring, cutting, sewing) at HCC, she said, "I knew all I wanted to do was design, not cut and sew and do patterns." Recognizing she would need a team of pattern makers, cutters and seamstresses behind her, she decided to look to Peru, where her mother had contacts and the labor would be less expensive. "It seemed logical to me to go to Peru," Delgado said.

It also seemed logical for her to use fabrics as an excuse to travel. She purchased fabrics in New York, Brazil, Colombia, South Korea and, of course, Peru.

Determined not to mass-produce, Delgado makes only 10 bikinis per style, mixing up the fabrics. She takes the fabrics, hardware and notions to Peru, where a team in the remote mountains manufactures them for her.

A VINTAGE VIBE

The collection is clearly retro, inspired by the beach bunnies and Gidgets of the '60s and '70s. Her 17 silhouettes, an impressive number for a first collection, feature more modest boy shorts and modified Brazilian cuts. They have little designer details such as ruffled halters, vintage floral and patchwork prints and lots of notions (think tiny pink buttons and unusual hardware). Her personal favorite is a solid denim-inspired fabric on which she screen-printed a jeans-style "zipper" and "pocket." This is a style she wants to expand upon.

In a thoughtful nod to women who struggle with the numbers on size tags, Delgado has done away with traditional sizing. Instead, her labels feature a single heart, two hearts or three hearts, indicating small, medium and large. Her tags are also untraditional. In fact, they're not tags at all. "Tags can be unattractive and uncomfortable, so I just screen print the information on the inside," Delgado explained.

Although The Butik, a trendy shop in Kaka'ako, had decided not to carry swim wear, they couldn't resist Delgado's when she brought them in. Why? "They're cute! They're different from what we see out there. It's one-of-a-kind. Also, she's new and she's local, and her price points are very reasonable," said co-owner Landy Cheung. The bikinis sell for $80.

Delgado plans to shorten the name of her company to DND, her initials. She also hopes to expand into beachwear and casual women's wear. Scary? Oh yeah. "I feel like I'm standing here naked with my creations. It's all on me. It's my business with my name on it. My biggest challenge is to conquer my fear," she said. Naked? No. Just wearing an itsy bitsy teeny weenie Peruvian bikini.