Exploring the concept of improvisational bathing—the life-giving, cleansing properties of natural water immersion. The work of Leonard Koren comes to mind, particularly his 1998 publication Undesigning the Bath (recently reissued by Blunk Books) where Koren investigates what he calls the "place that helps bring my fundamental sense of who I am into focus"—through worldwide thermal bathing, steam rooms, mud pits, utaseyu and various onsen.
On a recent trip to New Zealand, the Selwood One Piece quickly became an essential. It's the sort of suit you can, yes, elegantly sunbathe in poolside, but also wear on a bathing adventure. Made from a breathable, slightly compressive regenerated nylon from Italy, the suit has the capacity for movement:
to hike (shoes on, hair wet), swim, dive, and dry off in the sun.
Southeast of Auckland, lies a hot water beach where underground springs filter up through the sand between high and low water tidal reaches. Here, visitors dig into warm sand until thermal water pools up to form an improvised hot spring. Guided by Koren's compilation and the many baths around the world where nature takes the lead, we're relying on a suit designed for possibility: for submerging, exploring, traveling—
and looking polished while doing so.
