Swim Week L.A. shows off colorful, global styles from 10 swimwear designers
Bright colors and international styles were the main sartorial flavors as Swim Week L.A. returned for its second run, this time at the Skirball Cultural Center in West Los Angeles. Swim Week L.A. — actually, it was a one-day event on July 19 — started with a daytime pop-up shop and ended with an evening swimsuit fashion show featuring the selections of 10 designers.
Event creator and executive producer Connie Borja, who also designs the swimwear line Amour, said her intent was to bring together designers of different cultures, which explains the global influences from Colombia, Japan and Greece. Borja said an estimated 1,000 people attended Swim Week L.A., about 600 of whom were at the fashion show. She said she originally expected between 600 and 800 people to attend the event.
The fashion show began with Duskii, a line that didn’t seem to have a focused theme as several models wore tried-and-true solid red and black bikinis, while another model wore a one-piece black and white swimsuit with long sleeves and another model wore high-waisted bottoms outfitted with zippers.
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Swimwear line Beach Flirt 22 was true to its name. The swimsuits were a flirty mix of bright colors including a solid yellow bikini and several multi-colored, patterned one- and two-pieces. Among these colorful looks was a standout: a model wearing a white one-piece with a shimmery neckline accompanied by a white veil. Perhaps it was a beach flirt — or beach bride.
Lady Swim by Yogii, another swimwear line, heavily used gold detailing for its runway selections, which included a patterned pink and purple one-piece lined in gold with a plunging neckline. Another featured a bright gold strapless top over a multi-colored bottom piece trimmed in gold that tied around the model’s hips and stretched over her stomach, reaching her neckline. She also wore gold disc-shaped earrings and a matching coverup, which she stripped off as she strutted down the catwalk. The models wearing Palo Rosa Beachwear carried inflatable cupcakes, doughnuts and ice cream cones on the runway, which seemed fitting with the playful swimsuit patterns featuring emojis and fruit selections. (No dancing sharks showed up a la Katy Perry’s Super Bowl appearance.) The bubbly vibe continued with Pauleth Swimwear, which experimented with bright blues, pinks and oranges with navy blue and hot pink beret-inspired hats with sparkly details.
Designer Kenzo Suzuki’s wares were inspired by “sunshine, sensuality and anything that shimmers,†according to a host announcement post at intermission. Suzuki’s 8th Continent pieces shimmered as models wore gold hippie-style headbands, heels and shimmery sleeves as accessories to solid gold and green two-pieces and monokinis.
Also making a fashion statement was 14-year-old swimwear designer Vanessa Sanchez of Nessy Swimwear. In contrast to the bright colors of Pauleth Swimwear and striking golds of the 8th Continent, Sanchez’s showing featured solid color swimsuits, mostly two-pieces in muted tones of dark purples and greens and soft blue. Instead of wearing heels, models walked the runway barefoot.
The show finished with selections by Glam Clothing of metallic blues and purples with a sheer black one-piece that used floral designs as coverage. Then there was Leonisa, which featured lingerie options along with swimwear including high-waist bottoms in blue and fuchsia, among other colors. A sleek black monokini stood out in that collection.
And last up was Borja’s Amour swimwear collection, which included sporty selections such as lavender shorts with a black bikini top and an orange and pink string bikini with a shimmery, patterned top.
Twitter: @alexgoldennews
