ViX by Paula Hermanny is a California-meets-Brasil lifestyle label headquartered in San Diego, California. Recently, the ViX team packed up and headed to the annual Miami Swim Week to debut its latest line.

For the Cruise 2013 Collection, ViX showcased a line inspired by Africa. Beaded embellishments, hand-finished embroidery and new details like tassels and gold pyramid studs adorned both bikinis and day dresses.  Bold colors like vibrant red, twilight navy as well as rich tribal and animal prints brought the collection to life.

"Everyone loved the line and understood the story," says ViX Designer Paula Hermanny, "they were excited about the expanded selection of ready-to-wear and the new, unique details that are always a signature of ViX."

The new collection has already started trickling online at www.vixswimwear.com and will hit resort boutiques and major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales, beginning October.  Please visit www.vixswimwear.com to find a retailer near you.

Miami Swimwear Fashion Week is becoming a week long festival for cool people. It's not as crowded as Art Basel in December but it is having the same kind of cache that Basel did 3 or 4 years ago before Basel became the over saturated mardi-gras that it is now. In other words Swim Week is hot! Even a few years ago swim week was mostly just Mercedes Benz Swimwear Fashion Week at the Raleigh Hotel and the 4 day long Swimwear show for buyers at the convention center. Now the entire South Beach is taken over by events. Every trendy hotel has a fashion show or event (W Hotel, SLS, Soho House). Funkshion, the Miami based fashion week has its own fashion week tents set up with emerging designers showcasing everyday.

Planet Fashion even has an annual event at the Ritz Carlton showcasing designers featuring Amour Luxury Swimwear from Colombia and Chio from Milan.

Here is a quick run down of highlights for the week:

Omega Watches showcasing luxury waterproof watches had had a fun event at SLS early in the week. Chris Bosh from the NBA championship Heat team made an appearance.

La Perla the Lingerie specialists had a fun cocktail party and swimwear presentation at Soho House.

Vanessa Simmons, Hip-Hop royalty, Russel Simmons niece debuted her bedazzled collection at the Raleigh which for whatever the reason took place at 11:30 at night.

Oakley had a fashion show and party at SLS that was probably the best party of the week. It was model overload. Nick Cannon DJ'd and was amazing. Lil' Jon passed through.

Mercedes Benz fashion week: The trend of one pieces, geometric shapes and in general suits that are more covered up continues. A lot of the collections seem to skew older, possibly because of the price point.

Our Favorites:

Mara Hoffman

Vitamin A

Lisa Blue

Delores Cortes

Lisa Blue is one of our perennial favorite designers. This Aussie brand is huge in Australia and is continuing to get more popular here. The brand designer, Lisa Burke is a leggy blonde who models as well. She is trending because not only are her swimwear collections consistently cool but she is an environmentalist who raises money for whale and dolphin conservation. It's worth your time to explore more about this brand. It's our top pick for this year's swimwear fashion week. Her runway show was a mix of Goddess meets pin-up girl. Cool right? The show also featured "Dancing With The Stars" tango expert, Karina Smirnoff. 

Check it out here:

European fashion designer Dolores Cortés introduces her new model, who is 10 months old and happens to have Down syndrome: Valentina Guerrero.

Miami, FL.- On Friday July 20th Spanish designer Dolores Cortés showcased her 2013 collection at the Cabaña Grande of the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach. Celebrities and top industry executives gathered to get an exclusive look of the stunning collection filled with vibrant colors and patterns.

The 2013 line was not the only thing that left everyone in awe. At the end of the show, when all the models walked out, Dolores Cortés appeared on the runway to thank the attendees and, in an unprecedented move picked up a special baby. She introduced to the industry and media the new model for her DC KIDS 2013 collection, Valentina Guerrero, a little girl with Trisomy 21.

That night every guest received a DC KIDS brochure with Valentina on the cover. They also got a pamphlet and bracelet from the Down Syndrome Association of Miami.

Valentina Guerrero has become the first person with Down syndrome in history to be the main model of a prestigious fashion designer. Both Valentina and Dolores Cortés are breaking pre-established molds of beauty, reminding the world that our differences are precisely what make us all unique and fascinating. “People with Down syndrome are just as beautiful and deserve the same opportunities, I’m thrilled to have Valentina modeling for us,” said Dolores Cortés.

Dolores Cortés Kids USA will donate 10% of the profits of this collection to the Down Syndrome Association of Miami.

### Valentina and her mother are available for interviews Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 786.546.5022 Follow Valentina’s adventures and lessons on Twitter: @BraveWarriorVG

Planet Fashion is pleased to welcome Chio Luxury Swimwear in their debut at Miami Swim Week. Chio is an exclusive brand from Milan that is quickly becoming one of the must have swimwear lines for international celebrities.

Designed by two sisters, Stefania and Maria Cristina Di Simone, CHIO is a line that is created and manufactured exclusively in Italy. Their goal was to create a swimwear collection that contains a strong measure of high fashion and introduces 'haute couture' to the world of beachwear. CHIO is a luxury brand that embodies glamour and innovative vision through cutting edge creations, luxurious fabrics and the finest craftsmanship. CHIO’s use of Swarovski crystals, crochet, embroidery, French lace, and precious stones make this line one of a kind and nothing like it out there. The label is recognized throughout the globe with devoted celebrity followers such as Paris and Nikki Hilton, Madonna, Beyonce, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Anniston, Nelly Furtado, Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe Navarette Ximena and supermodels Bar Rafalie and Molly Simms.

CHIO di Stefania D Swimwear
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www.chio-online.com

CELEBRATE SWIM WEEK IN STYLE

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6-10 P.M. JULY 21, 2012

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