The annual designer swimwear events in Miami Beach are generally an “industry-only” series of runway shows, product launches and after parties.
No personal invite = no getting pass the velvet ropes.
But fret not, there are a few things that the public can attend:
Funkshion Fashion Week Miami Beach
What’s Going On – The guys behind the bi-annual Funkshion fashionpalooza will present swimwear, resortwear and lingerie shows in tents set up in Collins Park (between 21st and 22nd on Collins Avenue)and The Setai Hotel July 14-17.
The Best Part – It’s free if you’re one of the first 100 people to register/RSVP at FashionWeekMiami.com. You’ll find a complete schedule there also. Then from July 20-22 there will be a “sample sale” featuring 20 designers at the tents set up between the W Hotel and The Setai.
Miami Swim Lounge
What’s Going On – A bevy of designers from Miami to Fort Lauderdale will have their designs spotlighted in this temporary “pop-up boutique” in Coco de Ville lounge at the Gansevoort Miami Beach on Saturday, July 16th from 6 to 10 p.m. It is free and open to the public. For more information, go to ScenePRmiami.com.
The Best Part – Adriana de Moura, one of the stars of Bravo-TV’s “Real Housewives of Miami” will launch her line of sunglasses, Adriana by Selima. Also check out local swimwear lines such as Pembroke Pines’ Lila Nikole Swimwear, Fort Lauderdale’s Beware Swimwear from Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood’s In’tyce Swimwear.
You saw her hit the runway during the first episode of Bravo’s Real Housewives of Miami, and now Adriana De Moura will get a chance to do it for real! The Brazilian beauty, who obviously relishes in the attention, will hit the runway during the 13th annual Miami Beach International Fashion Week.
For those of you that watched the first episode (and were able to keep both eyes open for its entirety), saw fellow Housewives Larsa Pippen and Cristy Rice dare Adriana to strut her stuff down last years runway which she most happily agreed to.
I don’t really get what the big deal was though? There was no one sitting in the audience and no one around was really paying attention!!
But I digress…
This time, Miss Thang is going to do the real thing and hit the runway for Brazilian designer, Marcelo Quadros who will feature De Moura in the unveiling of his spring collection at the Copa Airlines Showcase. You can catch her at the Miami Beach Convention Center on March 5, 2011 at 8:30 pm.
For the first time in the hit show's history, Bravo's Real Housewives reality series will have a predominately Latina cast.
Four of the ladies in "The Real Housewives of Miami," which airs Tuesday, Feb. 22, are Hispanic, and for some of the new cast members, it is a long time coming.
"It's a big breakthrough in this industry that finally they're acknowledging the presence and power of Latin people," says Adriana DeMoura-Side, a Brazilian art dealer in Miami, who looks like she just walked off the cover of Vogue.
"We are, for sure, one of the biggest demographics now and to be representing Latino people is a big honor."
Demoura-Sidi, who is described by the show's public relations handler as the "fiery and flirtatious" one, said she is “thrilled to represent Brazil.”
"The Real Housewives" has been a phenomenal success for Bravo. Since its inception in 2006, there have been multiple versions of the reality show that follow the lives of wealthy, and erudite women who mostly share an appetite for high society, fashion, and, at times, drama that can only be produced through the kaleidoscope-like prism of a reality T.V.
The show has filmed in Beverly Hills, New Jersey, Washington DC, New York and Atlanta. But finally, it has arrived at the epicenter of Latin America: Miami.
"Being that it's Miami, I think they needed to have the Latino representation because Miami has a huge Hispanic community and it wouldn't be fair if we wouldn't be represented," said Alexia Echeverria, who with her husband, runs Venue, a popular Spanish language magazine, based in Miami.
"I think America is ready for the Latin culture. It's part of America already, you see it on American TV, you see "Modern Family" and many other shows as well, where they're implementing Latin culture. Who better than us?" she said.
Sunny news, Real Housewives fans: Make way for the Real Housewives of Miami – and soon.
Six ladies join the cast of the just-announced show, which will premiere Feb. 22 (10 p.m. ET), and they promise to supply plenty of heat this chilly winter. Though Bravo had initially announced that the Real Housewives of New York City would be premiering its fourth season in mid-February, the show is now expected to debut in the spring.
Who are these ladies that will be causing all the drama? Meet the cast of the Real Housewives of Miami:
Lea Black has a 9-year-old son with her lawyer husband. A strong supporter of President Obama, the Texas-born Housewife is invested in her own charitable endeavors.
Larsa Pippen is married to basketball star Scottie Pippen and was known as the "Hottest NBA wife." A mother of four, Pippen boasts that she's successful at everything she does.
Marysol Patton is a Miami native who runs her own PR firm, the Patton Group. A divorcee, Patton is known for throwing bashes around town and loves to spend time with her mother, Elsa, who considers herself a "seer" and offers spiritual guidance people in town.
Alexia Echevarria is the executive editor of Venue magazine, where she covers fashion and celebrity culture. She lives on Miami Beach with her husband Herman and has two sons from a previous marriage.
Cristy Rice was recently divorced from NBA star Glen Rice. The show will follow her single life as she juggles business (she owns a clothing store) and being a single mom.
Adriana DeMoura-Sidi is fiery and flirtatious and ... newly engaged. Her personality lands her in trouble and the subject of much gossip among the ladies.
Snooki was just a warm up. Miami now has its own "Housewives" series.
Eonline is reporting that the "Real Housewives of Miami" has already been shot and is ready to roll out to the masses. But just like anything dealing with South Beach, this version of the popular Bravo series will have an interesting twist.
One of the featured "housewives" will be Elaine Lancaster, the drag queen extraordinaire of South Beach.
Joining the diva known in male form as James Davis will be Scottie Pippen's wife Larsa and Christy Rice, ex- wife of former Miami Heat star Glen Rice. Other women getting in on the reality TV fun are Adriana Sidi, Alexia Echeverria, Marysol Patton and Lea Black.
