One swimsuit in the Tibi Swim 09 show really stood out to us. The low-dipping, neon pixelated Southwestern print one-piece. This swimsuit looks both flattering and fashionable and might just be sharp enough to double as a bodysuit for a disco party. Tibi's show was chalk full of the signature blown-up prints and kaftans we've come to expect from the brand. We envision (and we don't mean this as an insult) mother and daughter shopping trips where mom picks up a beaded kaftan and a one-shoulder black swimsuit, and daughter goes for a neon string bikini and boy-short bottoms (for when she's sunning topless). It's a testament to a contemporary brand when you can see these things happening simultaneously and it still all makes sense on the runway. The only glitch in this fantasy of ours is the aforementioned one-piece. The fact is, we could see mother and daughter accidently grasping it at the same time, their eyes meeting in a stink-eye stare-down. If what we love about Tibi is that teenager and grown-woman can both find what they want, well, then we suppose that makes the pixelated one-piece the vortex of the collection and the deserved star of the Swim 09 show.

We're going to start with our personal favorite from the Miami Swim shows. We can't promise you we'll make it much beyond this, given the state of things. Zimmermann, the star of Miami Swim and the one recognizable name to chicsters (Diesel, we think, might not count) showed a collection heavy on swimsuits and light on clothing (as opposed to their typical offerings, which are collections heavy on clothing and light on swimsuits). In other words, Zimmermann is never content to live within the confines of a fashion week. There was, for instance, a floral crop-top that, even if technically swimwear, would look smashing with a high waist skirt or wide leg trousers. There were also, among the clothing, silk harem pants, breezy printed skirts, jumpsuits, and mini-dresses that could either be beach cover-up or full-on outfit, depending on your mood. Zimmermann's whole manifesto pivots on the jetsetter (not the beach bum) and so we swim put into context in ways most designers are unable to envision. Zimmermann will never be considered avant garde and we're not trying to put them there. The point is that they bend the rules and, even to a by-the-book kaftan loving fashion woman, this is probably appreciated.

Yep, that's Miami Swim in a nutshell. We'll be bringing you a few reviews from the Miami Swim 09 shows, surely there's a little bit more substance than that, but we must say this first. Now, we're not likening Swim Week to New York Fashion Week (or even Australia Fashion Week for that matter) but it is, after all, a Mercedes Benz sponsored Fashion 'Week' (the reason we title it just, "Miami Swim" is that it's only three days long) and so it deserves a little bit of criticism. Even just for fun. First off, does the sight of orangey-red bodies skeeve you guys out as much as it does us? Just looking at the models this weekend made us feel like taking a bath in sunblock. We're living in an age where women by and large are finally foregoing their tanning booth subscriptions to avoid looking like a raisin by the time they're thirty, and yet, you'd never think so judging by the Miami runways. How do these designers not have better taste? Sure, when showing swimwear people probably want to see a model with a slight tan. But, at least to us, a 'slight tan' does not mean 'an orange body'. Is there no middle ground? That said, there were some other major fashion no-nos that we just have to shoutout now before we move on. Namely, belly button rings, implants (?), butterfly tattoos, and straw cowboy hats. Is there no justice in the world? There are plenty of sane fashion people down in Miami this weekend, are they too drunk to care? Okay. Pardon all the rhetorical questions. On to the swimsuits...

Season number six of Mercedes Benz Berlin Fashion Week begins Thursday, followed by Miami Swim Week, which starts this Friday. Consider the Spring 09 season officially underway. The names you'll probably recognize, showing in this year's Berlin Fashion Week include Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, Kai Khune, c.neeon, HUGO, and JOOP! jeans. We'll have loads of photos and reviews for you as things progress. To read about the designers participating in the Berlin shows, click here. Miami, which will no doubt serve as a alcohol-saturated vacation for all of those showroom reps who undoubtedly deserve some time off, will also host an exciting roster of designers including Zimmerman, Custo Barcelona, and Tibi. We're off to Premiere Vision tomorrow afternoon, a textiles trade show for the Fall 09 season, and then to a Paul Wilmot Holiday 08 preview, which means sneak-peak pics of Uniqlo, Monique Lhuillier, Naeem Kahn, and L.A.M.B. Exciting things happening in Coutortureland and the fashion world proper. For the rest of the day, we're going to throw back caffeine and office-poll who will confuse the seasons in an interview first and what everyone will be wearing come spring 09. One possible answer: straight jackets.