Local Firm Real Winner of Swimsuit Contest

An even closer look at the fine print of the 1998 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue finds that a small Orange County swimwear company came away the big winner.

Jamaican Style Inc. of Fountain Valley, a 10-year-old company owned by Jerry Goeden, had three of its suits appear in the magazine’s best-selling issue of the year.

That development is probably lost on most of the magazine’s readers, but it’s considered a huge honor--and big business builder--in the fashion industry.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hook,” said Michelle Goeden, the company’s marketing director and Goeden’s wife.

Jamaican Style was started by Jerry Goeden as a T-shirt and hat outfit tied to the Caribbean country’s national colors. The company expanded into women’s swimwear in 1993, and today has annual sales of about $8 million.

Two other Orange County designers, GirlStar Swim by Irvine-based Gotcha International, and Radio Fiji for Raisins, which is owned by Costa Mesa-based Quiksilver Inc., also made the magazine.

Russ Stanton covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5609 and at [email protected]