Spring 18 Preview Continued ~ Swim Notes

August 24, 2017

Aubade

The summer Lingerie Shows, such as Curve, are replete with swimwear brands. Many of the companies that have established Intimate Apparel businesses are equally adept in swimsuit development. Take, for example Freya, Elomi, Fantasie, Rosa Faia, Lise Charmel, Antigel, Empreinte and Aubade to name a few. Labels well respected for their unique style are developing and launching successful swimwear collections regularly. Skin Lingerie comes to mind. And, as hybrid dressing continues its march into the modern wardrobe, we will see more and more newcomers to this market. At Curve, I saw two, in particular: Tutu from Israel and Karen Mabon from England that inspired me. The messages I gleaned at Curve were not very different than those I saw in Intimates: Bright, bold tropical colors dominated by blues, and pinks, from pale to darks. Prints held court with florals, large and painterly. Graphics, stripes, dots and tapestries were present. Beach cover-ups or loungewear, or maybe even outerwear; this helps to blur the boundaries further.

Tutu Swimwear

Karen Mabon

But, when one elaborates on Swim, the whole picture is best told with the input gleaned from the Miami and Surf shows that are held each summer for the Swim market. I did not attend, so I asked my colleague, Kimberly Berger, owner of the Lions Lair in Islamaroda, Florida, to add her two cents to these notes. Kim spent 4 days at the Miami show shopping for her customer’s needs. She gave me a heads up on what she saw and I included some of her thoughts here. Kim added the infusion of olive and avocado, as well as yellows to the palette. She added tropical fruits to the floral landscape and dots to balance the stripes. Kim spoke of velvet, mesh, lace, woven metallic, and crochet. Could swim be borrowing from Lingerie or is it the other way around? But it is in the dominant shapes in which we found innovation: cold shoulders (one shoulder), big ruffles, lace up fronts and backs, peek-a-boo, keyholes and insets, extra strings and straps, cheeky bottoms even on high waists, yoga influences, Who is borrowing from whom? Minimal embellishment, but tassels, zippers and beadwork were important. And embroidery was key.

Clearly, the symbiosis between the design aesthetic that these sister markets share and the influences they trade with one another, makes it important to take note. I don’t have images of all of it here, but the trends were clear.

Panache