The battle of the beauties Wholesale Sexy Underwear has moved from the catwalk to the designers' studio with Megan Gale launching her new swimwear label Isola in direct competition to Jennifer Hawkins' Cozi range.

Until recently the pair went purely head-to-head Wholesale Babydoll Lingerie as ambassadors of Australia's rival department stores Myer and David Jones.

But now the war has gone a step further with cheap lingerie china Gale targeting her designer ambitions at the same lucrative swimwear market into which Hawkins launched Cozi by Jennifer Hawkins 11 months ago.

The swimwear industry is set for a scorcher this winter, as Gale's new line, to be unveiled at an intimate launch in Sydney tonight, goes up against Hawkins' latest Cozi 2010/11 collection to be launched mid-July.

Although both supermodels are keen to distance themselves from the celebrity tag, there's no denying Gale and Hawkins leverage their considerable profiles and popularity to compete not just against each other but also the likes of Speedo, Seafolly, Mambo, Zimmerman, JETS and Tigerlily.

Part of the challenge will be defining a unique point of difference in an increasingly crowded swimwear fashion space.

Cozi is sold in 65 Myer stores nationally while Gale's Isola range has already secured national stockists including floor space in David Jones' 35 stores.

Both labels offer a variety of shapes and sizes to flatter different body types and are aimed at the fashionably minded female in her early 20s to late 30s who treat swimwear like an extension of their wardrobe.

Indeed, Gale and Hawkins are savvy enough to understand that "swimwear in Australia has grown considerably from being just a sports garment into a fashion item and women are quite happy to change into several different outfits," says Anthony Halas, CEO of Seafolly which retails in 40 countries. Halas has teamed up with Gale for her Isola range.

The swimwear industry's evolution from targeting the "bikini beach babe" to now the "beach fashionista" is where Hawkins and Gale as designers play such a vital role.

Isola's swimwear line of separates, designed to give women the option of different sizes in tops and bottoms, is complemented by several pieces of outer wear including kaftans and maxi dresses.

"A lot of women are not perfectly proportioned and they might be a size 10 top and a size 12 bottom and you can at least make sure you get the right size fit for your top and bottom," says Gale.

The fashion industry has significantly shifted over the last decade, now promoting famous models as a new breed of entrepreneurial designers.

"It started with Elle Macpherson in the 1990s, she was the first one to extend it beyond being just a model and made it more three dimensional and made herself a business and brand," says Gale about the true longevity of models-turned-designers.