If you wonder why Siriya "Cindy" Burbridge is sitting next to you in the audience at a fashion show, just keep your eyes on the runway - those are her creations up there. The supermodel is now a swimwear designer.

Cindy's come up with a line of sleek swimsuits for Jantzen at the behest of CMG, the brand's Thai distributor, and it's work that fits her like a - well, like a swimsuit.

"I like to express myself creatively, and if there's one thing I love and know well, it's swimwear," she says.

Oh, they pay her to say stuff like that.

Nope. Cindy keeps travel journals that are filled with her skilful, beautiful drawings of the places she's been.

Plus, she's a model, so she always knows what's happening in fashion and, yes, she does in fact swim - and sunbathe.

"Some people hate having a tan line on their shoulders, so I designed the top with a tie so they can undo the shoulder straps when sunbathe," she says.

"I started swimming almost before I could walk and used to dream of being a professional swimmer. I went for my first dive with my dad was when I was five [he opened a dive shop in Pattaya in 1970, in fact]. Byron and I love diving, anywhere around the world."

Byron is, of course, Cindy's husband.

The four collections she's done for Jantzen are called Pin-up, Sun Kiss'd, Sun Goddess and St Tropez. Think fun and fabulous. She wants women to feel good and look good.

They're selling well and Cindy's ordered plenty more material. "To my surprise, the large sizes are really popular, but unfortunately I didn't do an XL this time. Maybe foreign shoppers love them!"

By Veena Thoopkrajae and Kupluthai Pungkanon

Daily Xpress