It was a press-trip day like any other: I was enjoying myself on Central European Summer Time while the East Coast was just waking up, shopping in the Eixample district of Barcelona. An editor friend and I descended on Gimaguas, the brand name on every under-35 fashionista’s lips, and what was supposed to be a great shopping day turned quizzically weird when store associates rushed everyone out the door. With just myself and my friend left, the founders — twin sisters Claudia and Sayana Durany, the Iberian Peninsula’s answer to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen — casually entered the store with massive shopping bags full of off-the-market grails. Items were laid out, and as we were left waiting even longer to try on sheer sweaters and swimsuits, a large swarm of people suddenly descended on the store. A boisterous (and very British) “Hiiii!” pierced through the quiet: Turns out, the boutique was transformed into Charli XCX and company’s private store for the day. After exchanging quick hellos with her team, we left her to sift through the offerings (she had already pointed out three pieces on the first rack she wanted in her size).
This may well encapsulate the summer Gimaguas (hee-mah-goo-ahs) is having. After being founded in 2018, it was the hot-girl brand on everyone’s arms, hips, and feet this summer. Recent successes have seen store openings in Madrid, Barcelona, and Ibiza, with popups in London and Los Angeles seeing visitors like Addison Rae, Rachel Sennott, Alexa Chung, Myha’la, and Amelia Dimoldenberg. Their instantly viral collaboration with Havaianas — adorned with thumbtacks on the sole or festooned with miniature keys on the thong — was spotted twice on Kylie Jenner and recreated by this writer’s boyfriend with Amazon pushpins.
The brand’s ethos is sexy, basic clothing at a price everyone can get behind (Charli included). The aesthetic falls somewhere in between Mallorcan baddie and Miu Miu-esque grandma. Every mens dress shirt is countered by a ruffled minishort or barely-there belt miniskirt. The simplicity of the pieces is deceiving until you try them on: What looks like bedsheet turns into an asymmetrical tiered skirt, and pieces of fabric transform into sheer cotton halter tops that pair best with sturdy bottoms (not unlike the juxtaposition of the year’s premiere outfit equation). Maximalism isn’t in their blood, and it’s not on their racks. In a fashion landscape where brands become synonymous with hero products or categories, Gimaguas has defied the odds and launched compelling pieces that fly off the shelves in several categories. There’s the swim, which has been worn several times by Kylie and Charli (she wore a metallic bikini as a top at Glastonbury); handbags, including their already-duped studded Franca bag and the Casilda Tote Chung can’t stop wearing; and shoes, especially the studded flats and boat shoe, which are both trendy and meant to last.
They’ve captured what it means to dress for horny-girl summer in the Instagram age without breaking the bank or sacrificing comfort. The Durany twins know what we like, take that notion, and run ten yards into the future with it. While the summer was theirs, the fall also promises to deliver: Our team is already lusting over the eyelet trench coat and studded silk minidress in cotton-candy pink from their Fall 2025 collection. (We’d place bets on Alexa Chung buying the mackintosh before September ends.) No matter what you choose, the beauty of the collections are the versatility: Someone tomboyish will find something alongside their bikini-top-wearing friend. The magic is in what you bring to it — a notion every brand chases but few realize.
