Written by Lourdes Nicolle Martínez, Editor in Chief
Photos by MICHAEL FERRER
The is a place for fashion design students in Miami Swim Week. It is important to expose them to the industry and show their talent and creativity. During Paraiso Miami Beach, two fashion schools participated: Miami International University of Art and Design and Istituto Marangoni Miami.
Opening the runway schedule at Paraiso Miami Beach was the Miami International University of Arts and Design fashion designs students presentation. In a vibrant way, the students once again made a spin to swimwear with their creative looks that walked down the runway.
American patriotism was also converted to fashion, exposing traditional and non traditional meanings on the swimsuit pieces.
The three winners of the afternoon were Zechariah Singh, winner of the Art_rican Collaboration award; Wood Bloindy Mathurin, winner of the Avessa Editorial award; and Ana Viteri, winner of the Perry Ellis Menswear award.
Istituto Marangoni Miami collaborated with Paraiso Miami Beach on the third edition of the Paraiso Swim-Upcycle Challenge created to raise awareness on sustainability. The competition invited Marangoni students to create two designs by upcycling dead stock fabrics donated from international swimwear and activewear brands. The selected students were paired with an established designer who provided mentorship throughout the process, culminating in a fashion show on the PARAISO runway.
The finalists were Anabel Montiel, mentored by Vitamin A; Barbara Khouri Miguel, mentored by Tropic of C; Camila Balleste, mentored by VDM the Label; Chenqui Jiang, mentored by PQ Swim; Laure Sawaya, mentored by Riot Swim; and Fabiana Polito, mentored by PEIXOTO.
The jury had industry veterans: MJ Day, Senior Editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Torey Schulof, the founder of J Rosen Showroom and Ivy Heilman, Senior Buyer at Anthropologie.
The winner of the show was Fabiana Polito.