In Memory of Cindy Zallen

For those of you who have been in the swimwear business for awhile, you will probably be familiar with swimwear guru/rep/designer, Cindy Zallen.  I'm so sad to to tell you all that Cindy passed away yesterday.  She was a very dear friend of mine and I have to say, she knew the ins and outs swimwear better than anyone I know.  We met each other at MAGIC, over twelve years ago, and became close friends right away.  She wasn't model thin...not by a long shot...but that didn't ever stop me from listening to what she had to say and vice versa.  This woman knew swimwear.  But besides that, she was astute, funny, clever, knowledgeable, sympathetic, caring and most of all, a very good listener with a great perception of people.  What she lacked in physical attributes, she certainly made up for in personality and brains and I always enjoyed her company.  We were frequent roomies in Miami, Arizona, Las Vegas and San Diego...all the shows. ( I finally had to insist that we get separate rooms because she snored so damn loud...LOL.)  We shared our thoughts and opinions about each, new season's line-up, the upcoming designers and the political upheavals of the swimwear world.

Cindy struggled with some serious weight issues, which seems odd that she would be so involved with women's swimwear.  But she reminded us all that we all have our day in the sun and that the world does not revolve around ultimate perfection, but it does revolve around change and its acceptance.  It's now up to her husband, Oscar and son, Zac, to accept this change of her not being there anymore to oversee their lives.  The holidays are upon us and I will certainly miss her...not to mention her making of those delicious latkes.  Good bye my friend, thank you for everything...you lived life well.

~ C.