Arlington Designer's Swimsuits to be Given as Gifts at 55th Grammy Awards

Arlington-based designer Emily Gonzaga is heading to Hollywood to give away swimsuits at the 55th Grammy Awards Gift Lounge.

Gonzaga’s swimsuit brand, D’Milikah, was selected by the Los Angeles-based entertainment marketing company Distinct Assets to appear in the celebrity gift lounge after being noticed in October during Fashion Week.

“It is a great opportunity for us,” Gonzaga, a Brazilian designer, told Patch. “They invited us to be there because they love our styles.”

Gonzaga chose five pieces out of 27 from her 2013 swimwear collection to give to the celebrities accepting awards, including a swimsuit called Citric Snake. The designer will be at the lounge this week during Grammy rehersals. The 55th Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday.  

“I am most excited, of course, to hand my swimsuits to more voluptuous bodies like Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian, Rihanna,” Gonzaga said. “It’s a great opportunity to put the name of the brand out there and put them on the bodies of the celebrities.”

Gonzaga does not have plans to open her own store, though she would be happy to see stores carry her brand.

“Basically, right now I am hoping to get into stores,” Gonzaga said. “We are hoping not only to be in boutiques, but also bigger stores like Macy’s and Nordstrom’s… I am creating a brand.”

The name D’Milikah stems in part from a nickname the designer had growing up — ”Mili” from Emily and “kah” from her surname Kennerly. The "D" out front indicates that the brand belongs to Milikah.

D’Milikah’s 2013 collection is currently being shown and sold at the Crystal Couture fashion show at 251 18th St. in Crystal City. The show runs from 6 ro 10 p.m. nightly through Saturday.