Luxury Swimwear Trade: 'Splash Paris' shows latest beachwear trends

World
Europe

03:56

Summer is here. For the fashion conscious, what to wear to the beach could become an even bigger decision than the holiday destination itself. Sexy swimwear and sustainable materials are at the forefront of fashion at Splash Paris, Europe's leading resort wear trade show on the bank of River Seine.

Splash Paris, now in its third year, brings together the world's leading resort wear brands to showcase the newest collections to internationally recognised fashion buyers and journalists.

The rapid growth in the industry means the show has doubled in size this year, spreading across two tents rather than just one.

British designer Juliet Dunn is among the most recognised people in the industry. She sources materials from India and has all her garments handmade there to this day. Her latest collection is called Juliet Dunn Resort 19, with themes ranging from Nomadic Chic to the Caribbean and maxi silk kaftans.

She says demand from consumers and competition between brands means 2018's resort wear is a very different industry.

JULIET DUNN BRITISH DESIGNER "Today the collection has to be a lot more sophisticated than it was then. I did have the market to myself rather because nobody really knew what beachwear was. It just wasn't a word in the vocabulary. But now things have moved on, all the big, big brands are doing it, and it's very, very big business now."

Anna Paola, Creative Director and founder of Paolita, is another British resort wear designer. The inspiration for her latest collection was Africa and pop art. Her signature prints are hand drawn then printed onto fabrics in Lake Como, Italy.

Paola says, as with other areas of the fashion industry, she's noticing a shift to more sustainable materials in resort wear.

ANNA PAOLA FOUNDER, PAOLITA "There is a trend more towards natural fibres and more towards what grows out of the ground and you can make a textile out of, or silks and bright colours which is amazing, people are really enjoying that. And then, like, artisan crafts, so there's also kind of a lot of weaves that I see that are coming out of Peru or lots of really nice embroideries".

But resort wear has developed into far more than just bikinis and swimsuits. Designers and fashion journalists describe it as a "lifestyle" with accessories and other garments being key to the look.

Accessories designer Ken Samudio is from the Philippines and started out as a marine biologist. Now he use materials found in the sea to make accessories for people to wear by the sea.

Splash Paris was co-founded in 2016 by Alex Lyles and Claire Spencer-Churchill, who saw a gap in the market to showcase this booming industry.

Lyles says this year it's the one piece swimsuit which appears to be in favour, mainly because it's been updated for the modern woman.

ALEX LYLES CO-FOUNDER, SPLASH PARIS "One pieces have obviously always been a really popular style, but now it's becoming a little bit more fun, a little bit more sexy, it's kind of the 'safe suit', but mum's who are on holiday with their kids are loving that style. But this time perhaps the leg is a little more cut away, there's more interesting details, lattice work, zips."

She believes the sector is one of the fastest growing luxury segments, expected to be worth around 28 billion US Dollars globally by 2020.

Sun Wei, CGTN.