Fashion Week For Miami Beach Bums

Yesterday was the last day of Miami’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim. We happen to live in a city where the opportunities to don a swimsuit are few and far between, which is presumably why this five-day event is held in a place like Miami, where swimsuits are de riguer.

Our lack of swimsuit-wearing opportunities means we don’t need very many, which also means we get to be extra choosy when picking them out. Or, it means realizing while packing last-minute for an impromptu trip to the Hamptons that you don’t own a swimsuit and running into Old Navy on 34th on your way to the train to buy the first one you see in your size. This is not ideal, so in the interest of being prepared for either situation, we look, with several grains of salt, to Miami Fashion Week.

Miami is not a place that most would consider to be on the forefront of fashion. Sure, there are some well-dressed people and amazing stores like The Webster; but a hefty portion of Miami’s residents appear to live by a “less is more” fashion philosophy, and not always in a good way. Miami also happens to be the backdrop for the upcoming season of Jersey Shore. However, if there is one fashion-related thing that Miami might have some expertise on, it’s swimwear.

As Lauren pointed out, swimsuits are a big profit-generator. According to market research firm NPD, women’s swimwear sales in the last fiscal year totaled $4.3 billion. This can mean designers are, understandably, more concerned with making something that will sell than making something innovative or statement-making that might appeal more to fashion people.

That being said, while there was a lot of sameness happening on the Miami runways, there were a few lines that stood out to us. From Ed Hardy to the Kardashians to Lorenzo Martone, here is a roundup of the trends that came out of Miami Swim, some of which we actually really liked.