How Selena Gomez inspired this bestselling bikini

Just two months after its launch, Theresa Marie Mingus‘ swimwear line Krahs is already a smash hit, thanks in no small part to the designer’s close friend and former boss, Selena Gomez.

Mingus, 28, worked as a personal assistant to the “Back To You” singer, 27, for many years before deciding to branch out on her own and enter the fashion industry. So when she began making plans to launch the line, “Selena was like, dude, let me be your first collab,” Mingus recalled.

“I was toying with the idea and then I was like wait, hold on, this is amazing that she wants to be my first collab! So I definitely took her up on that offer and I’m just super appreciative. She has a huge platform and she was just ready to be supportive of her friend. It just shows how amazing she is as a person.”

The “Dead Don’t Die” star also helped her to create Krahs’ bestselling suit. “The most popular style so far has been the high-waisted one,” Mingus explained, “and in my mind I for sure thought it was going to be the string bikini, because I’ll walk around naked anywhere. I’m not super skinny, I just don’t care, whatever, let’s do it. That’s very me, but a lot of people, I’m learning, aren’t like that — like Selena. She was like, dude, you’ve got to do more coverage. Like, what the heck?”

Out of their conversation came the design for a high-rise bikini named after the singer. “They just fit super well and they’re very true to size and if you’re feeling bloated or anything they hold you in. It’s kind of like a Spanx kind of thing,” Mingus said of the bottoms. “Those are definitely doing the best so far, and it’s like meeting in the middle. It’s not a full-coverage one-piece, but it’s not the string thing, so girls feel cute in it.”

But the pop star didn’t just inspire her friend’s designs — she also inspired her to run her own business. “Selena’s a freakin’ boss. She’s like a little genius,” the designer enthused. “I don’t even know how she does what she does, it’s so inspiring. She just taught me how to be a boss and I’m trying to learn and make it happen. I want to be great and it’s challenging, but I’m figuring it out.”

But even though business is booming right off the bat, Mingus confessed, “I keep having to remind myself [that this is all brand new] because I put so much pressure on myself, like oh God, I’m going to fail. But then I’ll call my aunt or my grandma and they’re like, dude, relax. It’s been 59 days, OK?”

“It’s very scary,” she concluded. “I feel like you’ve gotta have balls to just do it.”