Miami Swim Week
Fashion Weeks were originally mostly a fashion industry thing — a place for buyers, editors, retailers, stylists, and the like to see the next season’s looks in advance and ultimately decide for us what was going to make its way into stores, magazines, and eventually, our closets. That’s putting a very simple point on a very big fashion machine, but more or less, that is what Fashion Weeks were built around. Swim Week is very much the same general concept, but displaying swim and resortwear vs. everyday, fully clothed looks.
However, with the rise of the influencer (this author pleads guilty), digital media, livestreaming, blogs and the like, there HAS been a massive shift from something that was once mostly business-to-business to something that is now a whole lot more business-to-consumer, business-to-creator, creator-to-consumer, consumer-to-designer, and quite frankly, everyone-talking-to-everyone-all-at-once.
The lines between designer and consumer are more blurred than ever, and there are fewer degrees of separation between what walks down the runway and the women who are actually going to wear it. And that means we, the every woman, form what fashion is more than ever. We decide what excites us. We decide what feels good on our bodies. We decide what makes us feel hot, powerful, joyful, free and like our truest expression of who we are.
There is power in that. And suffice it to say, I love that for us.
THE LOW WAIST
It’s Britney, b*tch. No, but seriously…the low waist is back with a vengeance. And I am fairly certain you just wrinkled your nose up and said something internally like “not with this old belly” or “not until I lose 15 pounds” – and if that’s you, I am just going to say it…your belly has supported you, sustained you, and (for many of you), it has produced life; covering it up is covering up a part of yourself, and you deserve to be known and seen FULLY.
And if those 15 pounds you want to lose helps you to feel more at home in your body, takes away aches and strains, gives you more energy and range of motion, well, then HELL yeah, I support you, girlfriend. But losing 15 pounds to wear a certain style of swimsuit? Absolutely not.
The low waist, while controversial due to the aforementioned societal and self-inflicted rules, is a great swim design because it is comfortable and freeing – who wants to feel like they are wearing control tops outside in the heat in the middle of summer? If we are being honest with ourselves, NO ONE DOES.
Free the tummy!
THE HIGH LEG
There is a reason all of the babes of the 80’s and 90’s were wearing high leg swimsuits – whether they were one pieces, bikinis, or the iconic Baywatch lifeguard suits: HIGH LEG CUTS ARE FLATTERING. And by flattering, I do indeed mean that they are flattering on EVERY body type. Elongate those legs and enhance that waistline!
Women are notorious for thinking that full coverage with a low leg cut is gonna hide everything they are self-conscious about but BABY, all that does is cut into your hips and thighs at a weird angle (like a diaper – and I am not apologizing for that because it’s true) and highlight everything you don’t love.
It is 2026 and and we are freeing the legs and the belly, y’all.
BODY JEWELRY
This author–as someone who adores all things that sparkle, shine, glimmer and glisten– particularly loves this trend. From my viewpoint, clothing is essentially body decor. We live in our homes for so much of our lives, and we choose velvet curtains and silk sheets and marble showers and countertops to make it our own. We live in our bodies every moment of our lives, and we somehow forget we have the joy of decor; we have this vessel that contains our essence and we get to decorate it the way we want! And body jewelry is the icing on that particular proverbial cake, a shiny little highlight for our favorite (or even least favorite) features.
We saw a lot of styling on the runway (and off the runway) featuring body jewelry in ample supply, and sometimes, the glitz and glam is even built right into the suit…a little dangle of gold in the center of the bust, a short draped chain right above the booty, a fully bedazzled fringe across the ribcage. So shiny, so happy. Decorate your body, your way.
Personal recommendation: look for waterproof body jewelry. Thank me later.
SHIMMY & SHAKE FRINGE
Fringe is in, but it’s not the overdone, “boho chic,” all brown suede number we’ve seen before. We are talking movement. Beaded and bedazzled fringe that shimmies and shakes. Vibrant and saturated fringe. Oversized, long, hand-worked fabric pieces. I also would put all of the sea-inspired netting pieces as a subset of this trend category – it’s all about flow and movement.
THE CAPE
Speaking of flow and movement, we saw the hooded cape in both sheer and solid fabrics across several shows. As a beach cover up, the hood is perfect to cover your face and eyes from the sun and, let’s be honest, we girls at heart LOVE a billowy, flowy skirt or cape. It’s giving Queen energy and we are here for it.
THE NAKED DRESS
We all remember Carrie’s naked dress, right? And for some reason, she hated it, although, hello magical PR moment. Anyway, the nude dress is in BIG rn. Nudes, golds, chocolates, coppers…shimmery skin tones that feel like luxe molten metal, glistening in the sunlight.
On that note, a little look I like to call the Meredith Blake is totally hot right now, too. It looks like crisp whites and clean lines and oversized sun hats and silk scarves and $$$.
LACE & SHEERS
Lace cover-ups, lace dresses, lace details in swimwear. Sheer capes, sheer cover-ups, sheer slinky dresses. We are unapologetically feminine in this season (both in fashion and in our lives).
THE STRAPPY DOUBLE UP
Okay, maybe not comfortable, but double swimsuit bottoms is a style. If that doesn’t work for you, the real heart of this trend is straps. Make it strappy and wrappy. Show off the waist, the hips, whatever. It’s the concept of the string bikini but straps everywhere.
AGE + BIKINIS
I loved seeing this beautiful woman with her wizened silvered hair, abs popping, soft skin and big genuine smile come down the runway.
There was an audible cheer that reached me at my position on the runway before I saw her…and that’s because we as women don’t disappear as we age. We get smarter, wiser, funnier, and better all around. Yes, our bodies age, but that doesn’t make them any less awesome, and we deserve representation on every runway, including (and maybe most importantly) swim.
However, one small disclaimer – I don’t love the suit bottoms they chose to style her in. I want to see her belly free, not hidden; I want to see her leg shape in a high leg cut and truly flaunting it on the runway. To each their own, of course, but from a representation standpoint, this suit was muted, it felt like it had to do with her age, and there is still progress to be made in age representation.
CHELSEA’S BIGGEST TREND SECRET
- Wear whatever the hell makes you happy.
- Wear it with confidence.
I frequently get stopped by women saying “I wish I could pull that off” or “I wish I could have colored hair” or “I wish I could wear that style” and every time, I say, “Well, then do it.” Because WHO SAID YOU COULDN’T?
This article is about upcoming trends in swim and resortwear (and yes, there will likely be some overlapping of concepts at Fashion Week)…but only choose those trends that excite you, bring you joy, and feel like an authentic expression of who you are as a human being.
Trends come and go, who you are is worth celebrating ALWAYS.
