Image by Beach Gal

By Thea Glassman August 17, 2016

Call it an anomaly, but the brains behind the splashy, blinged-out bikini swimsuit line Beach Gal, are two Hasidic men.

Barry Glick, 30 and Saul Samet, 34 work out of an office in Boro Park, a Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, designing trendy high-end bathing suits with detachable accessories like beads, seashells and fringes.

“It isn’t a culture shock to me,” Glick told Racked. “I see it solely as a business opportunity and as a way to express my creativity.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Image by Beach Gal

The father of five started his fashion career as the owner of a store selling bekishes, the long coats worn by Hasidic men on Jewish holidays and Shabbat. He had the idea for a customizable swimsuit line when he saw an ad for Pandora Jewelry, which designs charm bracelets .

Glick initially approached members of his synagogue for potential investments — but was met with mostly head scratches.

“It was pretty hard in the beginning.” he said. “I would shop the idea around and say, ‘I wanted to speak to you about a business idea,’ and everyone would say, ‘Okay, what is it?’ and I would say ‘Bikinis!’ and they would go, ‘Huh?!’”

Glick then partnered with Samet, who lived down the street from him in Boro Park, and the two nabbed established designer Cynthia Riccardi to help with their designs.

Image by Beach Gal

Business boomed. According to Racked, almost all of the 2,500 pieces from their first collection, which run up to $150, have been purchased.

Glick and Samet don’t feel the need to hide Beach Gal from their community.

“I don’t look at it as a bad thing. It’s a piece of clothing and just because no one in our community [wears] it doesn’t mean we can’t bring something fun and funky to it,” Glick said.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount