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Fashion Week Swim: Designers hope to make a splash

DESIGNERS ON THE RADAR

Mara Hoffman

This is her second season in the swimwear business, and her prints for the pool echo those of her ready-to-wear collections sold at Nordstrom, shopbop.com and boutiques around the world, according to her website. Hoffman says she doesn't just sit at her drawing table in New York City for inspiration. She cites a ''spiritual exploration of the desert'' as grist for her upcoming swimwear collection, and plans to introduce a jersey cover-up dress and ''swim body necklace'' on the runway. Famous fans reportedly already include Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Drew Barrymore and Kim Kardashian. Swimsuits generally run about $135.

Tibi

Since founding the label in Hong Kong in 1997 with a collection of contemporary dresses, Amy Smilovic has become something of a design powerhouse, with a line of shoes, home accessories and more recently, swimwear. If you know the label from excursions to Saks Fifth Avenue or Bloomingdales, you are familiar with her eye-catching prints and fabric layering. Her fan base is said to include Scarlett Johansson, Liv Tyler, Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon. Swimsuits generally start at $200.

Aqua Di Lara

Canadian designer Reyhan Sofraci launched her high-end swimwear line in 2005 and recently has produced thoughtful, one-piece designs destined more for the catwalk than the boardwalk. Get them in boutiques or online at ssense.com. They're in the $300 range.

L'Space by Monica Wise

Selected as this season's coveted Mercedes-Benz Presents, Wise's sporty, surf-friendly designs have been a favorite of the Southern California tribe for several years. Wise pairs print halters with solid briefs and uses gold hardware on her swimsuits. She's fond of coy knots on bikini tops to hold the girls in place. Get the label at surf shops, Everything But Water boutiques and Saks Fifth Avenue. Prices start at around $130.

White Sands Australia

This new Australian line by Leah Madden throws a lot of different elements into the current mix of swimwear -- florals, ruffles, corsets, straps and cover-ups that resemble evening wear. Her designs, while maybe a little disjointed, are interesting, with an eye toward glamour. They are not easy to get ahold of on this side of the world, however. Cross your fingers that she's picked up by some American buyers.

Vitamin A

Amahilia Stevens takes a refreshingly clever approach to swimsuit design. She offers a series of cuts so consumers can hone in on exactly which shape becomes them. These swimsuits are for the thinking tanner. A go-to brand on the West Coast, Vitamin A is available at finer stores, such as Barneys New York, Henri Bendel and Calypso in St. Barth, and on websites such as shopstyle.com. Bikini tops and bottoms are sold separately, generally for $80 or so apiece.

-- KATHRYN WEXLER


-- Special to The Miami Herald

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BY KATHRYN WEXLER

Special to The Miami Herald

Young women who rock bikinis for a living are about to get busy.

Swimsuit-clad models will hit runways through Sunday at the Raleigh Hotel as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim returns for its fifth year -- and with its biggest lineup yet.

The five-day, invite-only production draws glossy magazine editors, department store buyers and boutique owners, most of whom are already in town to attend the massive, annual trade show by the Swimwear Association of Florida at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

With sleek productions and free cocktails, Fashion Week Swim offers a glitzy counterpoint to the cramped booths a few blocks over -- and hopefully a way for a designer's swimsuits to float above the oceans of Lycra.

''With all the editors in town,'' said Miami Beach swimwear designer Red Carter, ``you have a message and you are making a statement [at the shows]. I think there's nothing like it.''

Fashion Week Swim is produced by sports events and entertainment giant IMG, which carries considerable prestige in the fashion show industry worldwide. Still, the shows have struggled to achieve a definitive identity since they began, with much fanfare, in 2005.

The event again will lack a neck-craning headliner, unlike 2007, when Jessica Simpson attended, or 2006, which featured Rosa Cha, the Brazilian line known for spectacular productions.

But Fashion Week Swim arguably remains Miami Beach's most important fashion event and has few parallels in the resort-wear industry. The production company continues to score notable talent. And despite the squeeze imposed on designers by the economic downturn, the number of runway shows grew to 19 this year, up from 15 in 2008.

''This is the biggest season we've had in five years,'' said Christina Neault, senior director of fashion and events for IMG's fashion division.

In earlier years, well established designers jumped aboard. Carmen Marc Valvo, Gideon Oberson, Norma Kamali and the Badgley Mischka duo all made appearances at the Raleigh. Those boldface names were replaced over time with brands of more mass appeal, like Ed Hardy Swimwear, Tommy Bahama, Diesel and True Religion. Smaller, foreign labels that have yet to gain much retail traction also have long been a part of the mix.

So have fledgling designers. This year, New Yorker Crystal Jin Eley is one of those hoping to make waves with her first collection.

''In terms of exposure, we decided [Fashion Week Swim] was probably the best way to go to get the line out there and in eyesight,'' Eley, a former designer with Proenza Schouler and J.Crew, said of her new namesake label.

Fashion designers are fiercely protective of their brand images and are apt to snub runway shows if they feel the lineup doesn't meet their standards. But Carter, whose well-crafted swimsuits are carried by such retailers as Intermix and Barneys New York, doesn't mind the broad price range represented in what he calls the world's ''premier'' swimwear runway event.

''It brings in different types of stores and editors to see different products,'' he said.

To Elizabeth Walker, director of public relations for Tibi, a clothing line by Amy Smilovic that had met with success before launching swimwear last year at the shows, the relatively small number of participants is a plus.

''It's not mayhem -- it's really kind of a fun, intimate event,'' said Walker, who will be putting Tibi swimsuits on the runway again this year. ``We like the fact that aren't a ton of designers competing for all that press.''

The Miami Herald

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