swim

When it comes to fun, Miami Swim Week may just have the market cornered. After all, at what other Fashion Week are collections shown poolside?

Despite its breezy nature, the week always brings a ton of serious trends — and plenty of highly covetable looks. On tap this season — and just begging to be worn right now — were retro-silhouetted bandeau one-pieces, caftans in graphic tribal prints, and mix-and-match bikinis aplenty. Also appearing in heavy rotation were superhigh-waisted bikini bottoms, optical black-and-white colorblocking, tonal python prints, and more latticework cutout suits than we care to count. Sadly, none of these suits will be available until Resort 2013; until then, take a peek at the week's standout pieces in the slideshow.

The Mara Hoffman show is always a must see during Miami Swim Week, and with good reason. Not only does the designer excel at putting on a vibrant show, but her collections also always manage to feel fresh and chic without any of the cheese that can sometimes dominate the week. Add Hoffman's penchant for partnering with cool, downtown brands — this season she styled her pieces with Pamela Love jewels and Frye boots — and it's not hard to understand why her line has garnered a cult following.

For Resort 2013, Hoffman's signature tribal-inspired prints were in full effect — they came in high-impact color combos such as coral, flame, navy, and black, and they decorated everything from deep-cut one-pieces to bandeau tops and breezy caftans. Hoffman also made use of subtler patterns this season: a python pattern in tonal beige was particularly pretty, as was an art nouveau-ish feather print in turquoise and pink. The softer prints allowed Hoffman's excellent use of structural and decorative detailing to shine through; cut-out sides, crisscrossing latticework, braided straps, and intricate seed beading provided texture to high-cut briefs, corset tops, and tunics.

Not since Kate Bosworth's turn in Blue Crush have we wanted to channel the beachy-surfer vibe so badly. Designers from Michael Kors to Alexander Wang put forth the kind of sleek suiting that's equal parts sporty and totally sexy. Now we're channeling the surfer-babe trend with neoprene brights, curve-flaunting contrast detailing, and seriously sultry zip-ups. We've rounded up the best in bodacious surfer-inspired suits from favorite labels like Lisa Marie Fernandez, Free People, and more. Click on for 10 perfect styles to channel the trend in time for Summer.

Your beach or poolside cover-up is often just as important as your bikini itself — when it comes to heading from the water to the street (or the bar), you want something stylish and sexy, without being too over the top. Some of the best, most effective cover-ups can be as simple as slipping on a floaty dress or romper or throwing on a printed tunic and sandals. To help you choose a look, we've styled up five supercute cover-up and sandal combos that are bound to have you looking your best while on the beach. Click through to see them all now.

Just in time for weekend jaunts to the beach, Gap released its new swim collection filled with cute prints and colors to help you kick off the beginning of many sunny days to come. The line, now available in stores and online, features Spring's bold tropic prints trend, Parisian stripes, delicate eyelet details, and throwback prints in a bevy of silhouettes. "There are styles to suit everyone including vintage-inspired triangle tops and pushup balconets along with flirty skirted bottoms and fun, flattering one pieces," said Gap's vice president of GapBody design, Mireille Gindrey. "The collection is very playful with its black and white polka dot print and retro accents, but it’s also very wearable with features like removable pads and convertible straps." Start clicking to see and shop Gap's swim collection now.

With each 2012 Spring collection, we've been treated to a peek at the swimwear the upcoming season will bring. This time around, the one-piece rules. From sleek iterations at Michael Kors to the retro-inspired, sporty style at Marc by Marc Jacobs and the sexy, tribal-infused cutouts at Herve Leger, we might be seeing less of the bikini, but with so many ways to wear a one-piece, we doubt we'll miss it all that much. Click through for 16 of our favorite swim styles from the Spring runways.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! The unofficial start of summer marks this weekend, and for us that means glorious anticipation of a season of beach trips, barbeques, and total chillin'. To kick things off, we've gathered 15 of our favorite swimsuit editorials, with ultra gorgeous appearances from models including Daria, Lara, and Arlenis. Click to see hot models and hot swimsuits come together in our Memorial Day ode to the swimsuit.

Is it beach time yet? Australian brand Zimmermann released their Summer swim lookbook, and we almost drooled on our computer screens as we flipped through the incredibly chic, sexy swimwear. It didn't help matters that it was shot in some of the bluest waters we've ever seen. Click through this slideshow to see the fantastic swim looks from Zimmermann this Summer.

We love the curves and gap-toothed beauty of Lara Stone, so we're thrilled to see her modeling the season's swim in this sexy, glowing story shot by Mario Testino for Vogue. It's filled with luscious swimsuits, a couple of hot guy model cameos, a sunny Rio de Janeiro backdrop, and references to Brigitte Bardot's sex kitten appeal. If you weren't psyched for Summer already, click through these pictures and we promise you will be.