Parties & Presentations: The Best Of Miami Swim Week 2016

The fashion crowd took over Miami for the city’s annual Swim Week, and second year without IMG. Lacking the support of the powerhouse production company, Swim Week was hampered, once again, with major scheduling issues and overall disorganization. Think dueling dinners, multiple runway shows going up simultaneously, and scattered, back-to-back parties on and off South Beach. Solution? Keep the booze flowing and that Uber engine running.

Alternatively, PR maven Cece Feinberg of Feinberg PR felt this was Miami’s strongest showing yet. “Miami Swim Week is stronger than ever and that's evident by how many different events were jam-packed into a few short days. Designer and emerging brands from all over the world were here to showcase themselves in one way or another. It might be fair to say that this was the busiest year we've ever had.”

Runway regulars traded in their shows for more intimate fetes, like 6 Shore Road’s Pooja Kharbanda who hosted a “beach to bar” affair in conjunction with Jose Cuervo and Adrienne Bailon at the famed Faena hotel Friday evening. The designer shared, “With Miami Swim Week changing so much, we wanted to do something that was a little different and more fun.  So, we decided to do a fun pool party for our resort 2017 collection. The swim industry is growing significantly each year, and it's important for brands to be more innovative than before.”

Mara Hoffman took post at The Standard for a poolside BBQ on Sunday, whose fans were disappointed following last year’s impressive presentation at Casa Casuarina.

Other fan favorites like Hot-As-Hell, Tori Praver, and Frankie’s Bikinis took to the only available runway spaces at FUNKSHION and the W South Beach – the W boasted two venue options, which was a new installation for this year.

The weekend’s party circuit certainly exceeded expectations, from performances by Rick Ross at the Beach Bunny Swimwear party at Rockwell, a “tropical disco hustle” hosted by Fleur du Mal and The Coveteur at EAST, DJ sets by Hannah Bronfman for Stella McCartney’s swimwear debut, and The Fat Jewish takeover at The Edition with Treats! Magazine. The roster of dinners was reserved for small industry circles of media, designers, buyers, and influencers, like the MatchesFashion.com dinner at Mandolin Aegean Bistro in the Design District, Shea Marie’s Same Swim x Harper’s Bazaar VIP dinner at the W, and NET-A-PORTER’s dinner at Los Fuegos at Faena – all of which competed on the same night with similar guest lists.

Miami proves year after year that there’s no place like the 305 for Swim Week (stop trying to make Australia happen), and despite the disorder, there is truly an unrivaled energy that keeps everyone coming back. Looking ahead, Swim Week veterans foresee more daytime events as the evening register becomes more competitive.

Click through for our favorite moments from the weekend! 

[Photo via @treatsmag]