Local designer suits Bucs cheerleaders’ calendar

Cloe Cabrera
The Tampa Tribune
May 20, 2010

TAMPA – Every year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneer cheerleaders make waves with their annual swimsuit calendar.

In 2011, they’ll add an extra splash with swimwear by a local designer.

The team tapped St. Petersburg designer Essence Flowers to create all of the swimsuits the cheerleaders will wear in next year’s calendar.

Flowers came up with a look for each of the women incorporating Buccaneer colors – red, white, black, pewter and orange – and the team’s logo.

The weeklong calendar shoot, which wrapped up Tuesday, features the cheerleaders posing on the beach at Longboat Key and Jewfish Island. The photographs were shot by Jorge Alvarez.

It’s the first time the Buccaneers have used a local designer for the photo shoot, said Cathy Boyd, cheerleading manager.

“We’ve always used our uniform designer or had a store sponsor us,” Boyd said. “(This year), we wanted to use our brand in the suits. And we wanted to use someone locally. We have so much talent right here in our own backyard; we really didn’t need to look anywhere else.”

Flowers launched her clothing line in 2005, then took the plunge last year into swimwear with RDE, Remarquable Designs by Essence Flowers.

Her swimwear celebrates women, their curves and shapes, she said, and she designs for every mood and occasion.

Flowers met one-on-one with the cheerleaders to talk about swimwear likes and dislikes, and to customize the suits to their needs.

“I wanted the team to look cohesive, but at the same time be different,” Flowers said. “I wanted to design suits that were classy, sexy and memorable. I wanted to keep with the theme of the Buccaneers, but I didn’t want to make them out to be characters. I wanted them to look like cheerleaders. And I wanted them to like their suits.”

Most are two-piece suits; but there are also a few monokinis and one-pieces with plunging necklines.

Flowers said she finished most of the looks in about a week, though a few of them were completed just hours before the shoot began.

“That’s just me,” Flowers said with a laugh. “Sometimes I get inspired up until the end.”

One of Flowers’ favorite suits, worn by veteran cheerleader Jennifer Summers, is a throw-back-inspired, two-piece with an orange corseted top featuring the number 12 (Doug Williams’ old number) and the orange and red Bucco Bruce holding a knife in his mouth.

“Some of the girls are sexier than others,” Flowers said. “And some of them wanted to be a little more covered up. I got a feel for what they wanted, and that’s what I tried to do. They were easy (to design for) because they’re all in shape.”

Flowers can custom make any of the swimwear pieces shown in the calendar. Prices start at $90.