Mercedes Benz Swim Fashion Week Rundown

July 29, 2008 4:27 PM
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[Article written by Sandra Hurtado]

Once again Miami was host to Mercedes Benz Swim Fashion Week and with over 12,000 attendees the event equaled a great five days of resort and swimwear fashion. There were many new faces like swim week virgins Pistol Panties, Syla by Slyvie Cachay, Tommy Bahama, Poko Pano, and Luli Fanna. Swimwear collection debuts were also made by international fashions brands Custo Barcelona and Tibi.

Besides the swimwear, the accompanying jewelry could not be ignored. Leather Rockbands were all over swim week and the double cuffed look (the same cuff or set of bracelets on both arms) were in a few shows as well.

Since the event was invite only, most were not able to get past The Raleigh’s tight security into the fashion festivities. For your shopping guidance, CoolJunkie has compiled a list of each designer, a summary of the collection presented, and a photo of a favorite look from every show.

The sum up: ANK hit the runway with ocean-inspired hues of blue and green as well as stripes and asymmetrical and cut-out one pieces. The later part of the show was pumped up a notch with variations of a bold pattern that fused the color palate and added yellow and purple into the scene.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Overall, the CIA.MARITIMA collection played with earthy tones and had a bohemian and hippie inspiration. More color was incorporated into the tie-dye suits. This was one of the shows that rocked the double bracelet look on many models and there was a variety of cover-ups throughout the collection as well.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Barcelona’s swimwear unveiling was full of high pattern fabrics in shades of fuchsia, orange, and turquoise. Many suits had also had a metallic finish and attention to detail was not forgotten. The collection was just as much about cover-ups and biker style jackets.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Diesel’s theme for the runway was sports. Unconventional accessories going down the catwalk were helmets, shoulder pads and lacrosse sticks. Elastic bands were on many suits and a minimum amount sported prints. The color theme was strong shades of white, black, gray and the power color red.

Favorite look:

The sum up: If some designers had a limited amount of patterns and prints in their collections than Ed Hardy had, well, no solids in his. In true Ed Hardy fashion, the colorful rocker pattern was accompanied by no other than the Leather Rockband.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Luli Fama’s collection was filled with bold-colored solids (almost along the lines of primary colors) and a touch of animal-inspired patterns. There were also a many variations to the cut-out one piece.

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The sum up: This collection was amazingly inconsistent and each suit was an absolute surprise. Swimsuits looked almost costume-like as Carter sent viewers on a stroll down memory lane with looks inspired out of various decades in the twentieth century—the flapper-look was reoccurring in the show. Accessories and makeup were major in this show and added the final touch to the eclectic his/her collection.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Pistol Panties had an ultra-feminine collection filled with pastels, polka dots and cuts reminiscent of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Frills were on several pieces and rimmed the top of asymmetrical one pieces. Significant accessories in the show were oversized non-structured hats that almost covered the entire head.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Poko Pano hardly had matching swimsuit pieces. The theme was mismatched tops and bottoms and the color white was huge in the collection.

Favorite look:

The sum up: This collection was a fusion of Far East meets the Native American West as the show began with a blue blossom pattern and then transitioned into the more tribal inspired pieces. Models were dressed in tribal accessories and wore thin silver hippie headbands on straight center-parted locks.

Favorite look:

The sum up: Tibi’s debut consisted of bright patterns inspired from Indonesia and an overall Bohemian look. This was a collection that used the “double cuffed” look in a sleek way through metallic cuffs on each arm.

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The sum up: The conservative swimsuits by Tommy Bahama were primarily Hawaiian prints in hues of white, black, brown, beige, red, and blue. This was another show filled with Leather Rockband decorated wrists.

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The sum up: Vix came out with horizontal stripes, each time a different gradation of a color and colorful floral patterns on the swimsuits. The occasional tilted hat came down the catwalk as well.

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The sum up: The variety of one pieces in this collection are undeniable. Several of the suits were clinched at the waist by either a belt or a tied scarf—something that was not really seen in other shows during the week.

Favorite Look:

The sum up: The Zimmerman collection showcased pieces that could be paired with wide leg pants or a skirt to pull off a day look. The patterns on fabrics ranged from Indian to Asian inspired.

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