What the cool kids will be wearing in the hot sun

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In this story: Getting to the bottoms Color calling Going animal Suitable fabrics Suspect a coverup RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Mary-Jo G. Lipman
CNN.com Writer

(CNN) -- The cries of despair echo from fitting rooms across the country:

"This suit covers too much!"

GALLERY View Top 10 trends     GOLD MEDAL ATTIRE What U.S. Olympic swimmers will be wearing in Sydney     QUICKVOTE Tankini keep it kill it Boy-cut bottoms cute ugly indifferent Which animal print do you prefer? leopard tiger zebra View Results     MESSAGE BOARD Swimwear What styles do you love; which do you loathe? Give us a two-piece of your mind     ALSO Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2000

"This doesn't cover enough!"

"Why can't I just find one suit that doesn't ... (fill in complaint here)!"

Designers are taking note. They're trying to take the sting out of swimwear shopping for next summer, offering a wider variety of separates for every shape and size.

In other words: mix and match your heart out.

The two-piece is queen, said Diane Smith, senior editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. She did much of her shopping for the top-secret, top-selling February issue at a recent swimwear trade show in Miami.

Companies there sported bikinis, tankinis, bandinis and everything "in-between-ini," as designer Anne Cole phrased it.

Georgia Lee, the Southeast editor for Women's Wear Daily who also attended the trade show, sees the bandeau as the top of the tops.

It's made from a simple strip of fabric. But since that's not flattering to bustier women, Lee said, many designer are adding underwire and other hidden construction.

Smith said she feels the triangle top is the greatest part of most lines.

The bottoms are as varied as the tops, ranging from thongs to boy-cut shorts. "Designers are giving more choices in fuller bottoms that ever," Smith said.

Don't underestimate the power of the teeny-weeny bikini, Smith cautioned; those suits, in spite of their detractors, seemed to be prevalent at the show.

That doesn't mean designers are ignoring one-piece lovers. Smith calls the one-piece designs at the Miami show "a virtuoso showing of how to be playful with a one-piece."

The latest one-pieces, Smith said, are a lot more baring -- cutouts, ties, crisscross straps and open sides are featured on different designs.

Hunting down that solid-black suit may be harder than years passed. Color, say designers, is what's hot -- the bolder, the brighter, the better.

At the trade show, "You could hardly find black," Smith said. Instead, visitors blinked before a parade of really bright baby colors -- baby pinks, blues and yellows.

"That takes the edge off the sexiness," she said, "and makes it more playful."

The suits' bright, sunny hues were reminiscent of the '60s or '70s, with noisy color combinations like pink and orange, Lee said.

The glam-rock look of the '80s also is roaring back. Gold has replaced silver as the metallic color of choice, Lee said, and iridescent or shiny fabrics are abundant.

Adding to the flash are the embellishments -- crystals, fringe trim, embroideries, sequins, buttons. Smith said she also noticed a lot of metal ornamentation, such as loop chains or fasteners.

Prints are in too, especially animal patterns. "It's all over the place," Lee says, "from zebra to leopard to giraffe to pony."

The florals are "bright '60s-looking florals," Smith said. But they're not so much the tropical kind; instead, they're the what Smith calls "Austin Powers sort of prints," a reference to the Mike Meyers movie character who sports the funky-bordering-trippy flower-child apparel. Designers are also showing a penchant for paisleys, both Smith and Lee agreed. Some of those patterns have taken on a more exotic Middle Eastern tone, Lee said.

Those who prefer textures to print have a variety from which to choose. Fabric treatments are allowing designers to be more innovative these days, Smith and Lee said.

Designer Laurie Allyn, for example, used heat to create a bubbly surface on her suits for Premier Active Group. Those "puckery, seersucker-y kind of textures" are popular, Smith said.

And then there's mesh, "the best figure controller ever," according to Cole, who designed the "Mesh Demeanor" suit. "It hides the little ripples, bumps and creases ... and gives a little sex appeal to boot," she said.

The mesh pieces also can be worn to clubs and restaurants, she added.

Other beachwear also is dressing up for a day or night on the town. Swimsuits, in general, have become wardrome oriented, designers agree. In designing her collection, Cole said she took inspiration from ready-to-wear clothing.

Designers also are paying greater attention to coverups. "If you're getting too much sun, there are a million ways to cover up," Smith said.

"The biggest thing now is the pareo," according to Lee. Those sarongs as well as tops, usually sheer, come in an array of colors.

Overall, designers agree, they're having more fun with swimwear this year.

We're into a fun glitz and glamour period," Cole said, "tongue-and-cheek glamour."

'Austin Powers' exposed
June 29, 1999

Women's Wear Daily

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