The Story

Trunkettes was the brainchild of Hilary Genga, a mom entrepreneur in search of a trendy bathing suit that provided more freedom and comfort than traditional swimwear. Her story from initial startup idea to running a business and creating fashionable suits that are not only comfortable and confidence building but glamorous to boot, is an inspiration to all women and the business community as whole. 

Hilary had been wearing her husband’s swim trunks for years, matched up with cute bikini tops.  She was much more comfortable at the beach and the pool wearing trunks than a traditional women's swimsuit.  It looked super cute and she could be as active as she wanted (especially running after her kids) without worrying about a wardrobe malfunction.  Still, she wanted something a little more feminine and made for a woman's body.  After looking for years in department stores and never finding what she wanted, Hilary decided to create them herself. 

She went to her friend Kristen Greven who had recently graduated fashion school. Kristen immediately made sketches and then some prototypes, and the business was off and running. Some great publicity early on really opened up a lot of doors for Trunkettes. Hilary loves that she hears from women all the time praising her product, and loves that she is doing her part to promote women in business.

Trunkettes Swimwear has been featured on The TODAY Show, The Talk, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, as well as in US Weekly, The Huffington Post, HuffPost Celebrity, Business News Daily, Celebrity Style Guide, Coolspotters, InTouch, The Chicago Tribune, Glamour, The New York Post, Newsday, The Tampa Tribune, Style, OceanDrive and Genlux, among other notable press outlets. Hilary was also mentored by Daymond John of ABC’s Shark Tank and found his advice enormously valuable as a business owner starting with nothing.

Trunkettes Swimwear has also been included in the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition six times, beating out upwards of 10,000 submissions each time to make it in the ultimate placement for premiering the season’s new swimwear. She applauded Sports Illustrated for featuring size 14 models this year saying, “Empowering women with choices, feeling beautiful and finding your own self-confidence is what the Trunkettes brand is all about. We love the choice of acceptance SI has made in featuring more realistic models this year and hope that it marks a move in this direction for the industry.”

An impressive list of celebrities wearing Trunkettes have popularized the brand, including Carrie Underwood, Carmen Electra, Felicity Huffman, Kathy Lee Gifford, Perrey Reeves, Julie Bowen, Hannah Davis, Gretchen Rossi, and the lovely ladies on The Talk. The diverse Trunkettes clientele represents the variety of styles offered- from a full range of alternative swim trunks for women to string bikinis and cover-ups.

Hilary grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended USC's prestigious theatre school, where she honed her creative skills as well as her business skills.  She started a nonprofit production company, where she produced many successful original plays and musicals. After getting married and having two children, she decided she wanted to use her entrepreneurial skills to start a successful business, and help secure her children's future. She also loved the idea of a business focused on women run by women.

Hilary lives in LA with her husband and two kids. The Southern California Business Journals recently honored Hilary as Women In Business CEO of The Year. 

Kristen has been Co-Owner and Design Director for Trunkettes swimwear since the company was founded by Hilary Genga in 2008. Growing up in an exceptionally artistic family, she was inspired by many forms of art at a very young age.

Kristen attended The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and received a degree in Fashion Design and an advanced degree in Film and Television Costume Design. Since receiving her degrees, she has worked as a Wardrobe Stylist and Costume Designer on multiple movies and television shows. Her wardrobe team on CBS’s The Talk was recently nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.

Kristen finds loads of inspiration from her various travels around the world.  She loves to scour antique flea and textile markets for the best new treasures, and also loves studying foreign architecture. Being involved with Trunkettes has given her a new sense of self-gratitude because she knows she is empowering other women.