How Lori Harvey’s Industry Experience Influenced Her Brand, Yevrah Swim

The SI Swimsuit rookie and entrepreneur shared her philosophy in a new magazine cover story.

Lori Harvey / John Nacion/Getty Images

SI Swimsuit rookie Lori Harvey was known for her phenomenal fashion and flawless bikini modeling skills long before she graced the pages of the publication or launched her brand, Yevrah Swim. The 27-year-old, who traveled to Mexico with photographer Yu Tsai for her appearance in the 2024 issue, where she had the opportunity to wear three pieces she designed while on location, founded the swimwear label in August 2023.

Initially sold exclusively on Revolve, Yevrah Swim has quickly become a leading retailer, so much so that earlier this month, Harvey decided to fully operate the brand on its own website.

“When we initially launched, I wanted to launch it with Revolve. They have such an incredible infrastructure that they’ve built,” she shared in a new cover story with StyleCaster. “I wanted Yevrah to be a part of their brand as to help promote it, get eyes on it, and be in their orbit of their clientele space. Once we did that, and it was very, very successful, I knew I wanted to launch my own site. It was really all about timing.”

Lori Harvey was photographed by Yu Tsai in Mexico. Swimsuit by Yevrah. Necklace by Jacquie Aiche. Body Chain by Jacquie Aiche. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Harvey, who is also the founder of skincare label SKN by LH, admitted that when starting out in the modeling industry, she felt a lot of pressure to shrink herself down to fit the sample size. It was that experience that inspired her to launch her brand ranging in sizes from XS to XXL.

“I absolutely felt pressure to be a certain size, especially when I first started. When you’re backstage and they’re fitting you, everything is sample size. You’re expected to be very, very tall and very, very thin,” she explained. “I’ll be honest, I definitely was self-conscious about it when I first started, because I’m not a traditional model. When it came to developing my brands, I was like, ‘O.K., inclusivity is number one on my list.’”

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Harvey is also adamant about shutting down the narrative that she just slaps her name on a brand and calls it a day. Rather, she’s heavily involved in the entire process, handling everything at every stage from creative direction to product development.