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   Columbian Carlos Pinel designs everything from intimate wear and swimwear to ready-to-wear, haute couture and accessories collections. He’s quite popular throughout Latin America as a designer who believes in the light touch, a ‘minimalist concept of femininity’. As such his swimwear collection was spare but not sterile, straightforward with deliberate accents of whimsy.
   My favourite design of his from the collection shown in Miami followed that exacting mandate to the letter. A pale pink gingham print two-piece suit, it had a certain innocence yet it was very sexually provocative. I was likewise very much taken with his yellow vine print suit, the black scoop-neck top with the high waist bikini bottom and his white bandeau top paired with a lace bottom. Nothing he showed on the runway was over the top or a design he would later regret having shown. Mr Pinel is definitely one to watch.
   Alexandra Marques, the head designer for Keny Swimwear believes that women should have all the help they need in looking their best—especially when they are lounging on the beach or by the pool. As a student, she studied at both the Chambre Syndicate de la Haute Couture and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology before heading off to Rome to work with the design team of Sorelle Fontana. As the owner and head designer of her own company in Portugal, she is now able to put all her design philosophies in practice. Her suits are designed to make women feel great about themselves; thus most of her tops have an under-wire feature for added support. Her bandeau tops has side bones for bust enhancement and many of her one-piece suits has a waist-crossing feature that gives the illusion of a slimmer waist. There are the kind of features women are looking for when they shop for a new swimsuit, making her designs all the more attractive to new and old customers alike. She also finds ways to incorporate new accent features into her designs while perfecting old ones.
   Of all the designs shown in Miami, I thought her black halter (one-piece) with red graphic print was her most successful. She accomplished a great deal with this one piece: it was sexy, simple, and body-enhancing. Another alluring design was her sea-foam blue white two-piece suit with matching sarong. Ms Marques’s collection covered the bases on all fronts and was truly one of the better ones shown throughout the whole week.

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Franco Montoro may not be a household name but his designs are an indication of deep talent