Stretching Definition of Swimwear
Comfort, they said, was their primary consideration when designing swimsuits. But 30-year-old Robin Piccone and 34-year-old Macarena Gutierrez appeared at I. Magnin, Beverly Hills, last week with strikingly different swimsuits.
Piccone’s look like abbreviated pieces of sportswear. The tank suits feature halter necklines with matching belts. The two-piece suits have waist-high trunks and belted waistlines.
“The ultimate in comfort is wearing a one-piece utilitarian garment made in a stretch fabric,” said Los Angeles-based Piccone.
She incorporates her swimwear line with such traditional sportswear items as unitards, either ankle-length, cropped at mid-thigh or as short as a tank suit. Many of her swimsuits, minidresses and unitards have underwire support, eliminating the need for a bra. She presents her swimwear and sportswear as a homogeneous wardrobe.
Gutierrez, who divides her time between homes in Mexico City and Los Angeles, designs suits with an after-5 bent. She uses metallic fabrics and filmy sarong wraps on simple one- and two-piece silhouettes. “Often, when you are in a swimsuit, you don’t have anything else on, no makeup, no earrings. So I try and help women feel attractive.” she said.
The two design solutions reflect the disparate swimwear market. Gutierrez, who sells her swimsuits in Europe and in Central and North America, makes some cultural generalizations about swimwear buying habits. Women in the United States and Mexico want suits that are easy to wear, easy to wash and last longer than a summer, she says.
Gutierrez’s European customers have a different agenda. In Spain, women of all ages throw modesty to the wind and look for suits with the most minimal coverage. The French want cutting-edge design in the trendiest colors, she believes. “Everyone in France wants the fashion color, even if it isn’t flattering to them.”
Piccone, who sells her hybrid swimwear-as-streetwear nationwide, has found a loyal following on the East and West coasts. The heartland, though, has been slow to embrace swimsuits that go public, she said.
