It’s getting hot in here: Miami Swim Week returns to steam up the summer with sexy fashion shows
/Are you ready to dive into the hottest time of year in Miami? Of course you are. Miami Swim Week — the premiere event in the world for swimwear fashions — is taking over Miami Beach one itty-bitty bikini and tunic at a time from July 12 to 17.
“Swim Week is the biggest platform for the swimwear industry in the U.S. It could be a chance to find the hottest new brand, or the chance to find a new distributor, a new contact, a press opportunity — it can be anything,” Cece Feinberg PR Owner Cece Feinberg says of the event. Since 2004, Feinberg has been an integral part of the event’s runway shows. Now Feinberg heads up Swim Week Calendar which is a publication listing all the events happening during Swim Week and throughout the year.
The 36th annual SwimShow trade show, sponsored by the Swimwear Association of Florida, will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center from July 14 to 17. Cabana (located at the tents at Collins Park) and Hammock (located at 1 Hotel South Beach), additional trade shows, are scheduled as well for Swim Week. This trilogy is the most important swimwear trade shows in the industry.
“Now with the other trade shows, the runway shows, and all the other satellite events — Miami Swim Week is to the swimwear industry what Art Basel Miami Beach is to the art world,” Feinberg adds.
As for those spray-tanned models swathed in skimpy suits, a flurry of fashion shows are also in the mix compliments of productions such as Paraiso, Art Hearts Fashion and Planet Fashion.
Open-to-the-public fashion fair Paraiso takes place July 12 to 16 at Collins Park and W South Beach. Tickets to attend will be available at eventbrite.com soon. Worth noting? Baes in Bikinis brand will be present at this first-of-its kind fair and is a label helmed by a 19-year-old Malibu-based designer named Stephanie Princi.
Art Hearts Fashion will take place July 12 to 16 at Faena Forum (think designers such as Zimmermann, Orlebar Brown, Caroline Constas and more) and tickets are available here. And now in its sixth year participating in Swim Week, Planet Fashion’s invite-only fashion shows will take place at the Loews on July 13 and 14.
Swim Week’s origin begins with SwimShow — the largest and longest-running tradeshow for swim fashions taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center. “Since its inception, this is where the actual business of buying and selling swimwear takes place for the swimwear community. The show had established itself with the best brands and buyers around the world,” Feinberg says. The tradeshow boasts over 2,500 brands, and 3,000 buyers from over 60 different countries.
As for a preview of what’s to come on the runways, expect a mishmash of rock n’ roll inspo, cut-out silhouettes and optimistic prints. At just 18 years old — the youngest designer to show a collection at Swim Week — Gigi Caruso of Gigi C Bikinis says, “Lightweight scuba fabric, laser-cut details and zipper-front one-pieces take center stage. We’ll be bringing plenty of ’80s and ’90s inspired looks to our 2019 collection, highlighting luxe new details and unexpected pops of color.”
Can’t wait to get in the swim.