Fla. Swimwear Shows Go Sophisticated
Stylish sun worshippers, take note. Sophisticated sexy is the theme for next year's swimwear.
That's the trend designers began unveiling in their 2010 swim collections at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach. The 5-year-old event, which kicked off with a party on Wednesday and ends Sunday, continues to grow, with 20 runway shows and presentations this year, the most to date.
Tibi, Caffe Swimwear and Marysia Swim were the first three lines to show their designs on Thursday night.
At Tibi, designer Amy Smilovic used batik and ikat prints that she enlarged to make designs that were inspired by Indonesia. Smilovic, who said she was also inspired by the minimalist designs of the 1990s, sent models down the runway in colorful bikinis and one-pieces. She accented many looks with chunky cuff bracelets and large earrings, mostly in gold.
One model walked down the runway in a one-piece, floral-print bandeau bathing suit. There was also a purple, one-shouldered suit, picking up the goddess silhouette already popular in ready-to-wear; a blue maillot with pink, light blue, orange and yellow paillettes, and a gold one-piece.
Smilovic's cover-ups got rave reviews from model Kelly Killoren Bensimon of "The Real Housewives of New York City," who was in the audience.
Her favorite, she said, was a long fuchsia pink creation. "I thought the prints were really authentic."
Smilovic used a lot of hot pink, turquoise and bright greens.
"Just like in a regular collection, when you see someone in a Tibi, I want people to know right away it's a Tibi bikini," she said.
And there were a lot of bikinis to see. There were string bikinis and others with bandeau and triangle cups. One bikini mixed orange and purple, while another featured aqua and beige.
What to wear over it?
Maybe a pink jumpsuit, an orange dress with straps made of rope, a long gold linen dress or a blue silk romper. A model also wore a black cover-up beaded around the neck with yellow, white, pink and green stones.
Smilovic said the bathing suits cost from $175 to $218 and the cover-ups range from $140 to $480.
The Tibi girl, she says, "is strong. She is confident. She loves getting dressed."
The suits were paired with gold or silver high-heel sandals from Tibi's collection.
Caffe Swimwear designer Paula Saavedra put the jewelry right on her sexy suits. There was a white, low-cut one-piece with embellishment around the neck. Some bikinis were held together with gold pieces. Another was a white halter "trikini" - basically a white bikini held together with a large chunk of gold hardware, which had colorful material woven over the middle of it. Models walked down the runway in platform gold shoes and oversized straw bags that evoked a hippie feeling.
"It's a luxury you can wear," Saavedra said. "Glamorous, but still looks comfortable."
The bohemian feeling of the 1960s inspired her, she said. She didn't want the standard carbon-copy bikinis, so she created suits that seemed purposely mismatched, like a solid white bottom and a multicolored top. Bathing suits are priced between $160 to $200 and cover-ups start at $200 and go to $300.
At Marysia Swim it was all about girlish play. For her first fashion show at the swim week, designer Maria Reeves - also known by her nickname Marysia - sent some models down the runway in tutus, a gesture to her childhood when she studied ballet.
"I wanted to add a little twist to it," she said.
She certainly did add a little glitz to her retro-looking suits. There were added zippers, a large bow on the shoulder of a beach dress, gold studs and of course, lots of ruffles.
"I'm pairing the neutral colors with punches of pink, peach," she said.
Some of her bikinis had high-waisted that were reminiscent of the 1950s. Each piece, which costs about $100, can be mixed and matched. They don't necessarily have to be sold as a set.
A model walked down the runway with a little girl wearing a bikini version of Marysia's red one-piece with yellow ruffles. There was also a peach romper and a champagne-colored one-shouldered cover-up.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday at the poolside party at the art deco Raleigh Hotel in South Beach, partygoers drank French martinis, listened to house music as they sweated through their summer frocks because of the tropical heat.
Bensimon, who is in town filming interviews for Plum TV and pushing her new jewelry line, was also there.
"For this season it's really about the retro bathing suit," she said. "Skin is in."
She said that having swim week in Miami is very appropriate.
"Where else are you going to have it?" she said.
Another guest, Doris Laurence, who lives in Fort Lauderdale and works for one of the show's sponsors, DHL Express, was a little more specific: "Swim week stays true to the vibe of Miami. Less is more in Miami ... Show your assets that you have purchased."