Now, 'Monokinis' to help women who've undergone mastectomies feel comfortable

A Finnish company has launched a line of kick-ass swimwear called Monokini 2.0, designed specifically for women who've undergone mastectomies.

Inspired by her own struggle with the disease, the project's founder Elina Halttunen, who describes herself as a woman "with one breast and a passion for swimming", is hoping the designs will meet the needs of women like herself who haven't had reconstructive surgery and are embracing their new bodies - even if that means having one breast, not two, Stuff.co.nz reported.

She said that having only one breast made finding fitting bikinis difficult, so she thought that maybe there would be others out there like her who wanted swimwear that would not make them feel that they were missing a breast.

Of the Monokini 2.0 offerings, there are minimalist cuts and more elaborate ones, such as the one inspired by a gladiator's armour and the one reminiscent of the Birth of Venus.

Nine breast cancer survivors modelled the stunning samples, with the resulting photo series due to be exhibited in Finland, Norway and Sweden as part of an art show.

The name Monokini 2.0 was inspired by Rudi Gernreich, who designed a swimsuit that exposed both breasts in the sixties.

The swimsuits themselves are going to be produced through a crowdfunding initiative, which is due to go live this week on May 30.