Saturday Night Swim Week Highlights

Boho looks and tribal prints ruled the runway on night three.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim kicked off its third night at the Raleigh Hotel with looks from Dolores Cortes and Mara Hoffman. Both shows drew inspiration from exotic locales, with each destination being more colorful than the last.

Dolores Cortes [Gallery]
Spanish designer Dolores Cortes invited her audience to sail away to paradise with her latest collection. Models in neon pink and adorned with feathers conjured up images of flamingos, while rust-orange bikinis and one-pieces in a-symmetrical shapes played the role of birds of paradise.

Like a blooming tropical oasis, Cortes’ open backs cover-ups, rainbow tie-dye patterns, mix-and-match tribal prints, ruched bottoms and cutout board shorts were bursting with color.

Standouts included a romper swimsuit, whose flattering shape was both modest and sexy, as well as turquoise and chunky leopard-print pattern suits that brought a chic, new dimension to animal prints.

Keeping the color coming, Make Up For Ever’s hot pink and purple eye makeup was striking and perfectly suited for Cortes’ color infusion.

Mara Hoffman [Gallery]
Last year, designer Mara Hoffman explained her collection was for a girl traveling the world over, maybe even traveling through outer space. This year, Hoffman’s muse continued her journey, but this time her destination was Egypt -- and she arrived with a suitcase full of boho prints, tribal patterns and nomadic cover-ups.

The hair at Hoffman’s show, dramatic double fishtail braids created by TRESemmé and lead stylist, Elsa Canedo, simply must be mentioned. The look was laidback, sexy and utter simplicity. Bold bindi-esque stripes adorned foreheads, giving worldly flavor to each of Hoffman’s models.

But it was the ‘60’s-inspired prints that stole the show. Feathered patterns, chevron stripes and even tiny evil eyes worked their way into the collection’s cutout- and high-waisted bottoms and bandeau tops. Hoffman’s mix of bikini tops with unlikely bottoms, like leggings, came off to much fanfare. And her bags, especially a multi-colored tasseled number, were unexpected gems in the collection.

The collection’s abundance of gauzy cover-ups could and should double as easy summertime slip-on dresses. But the standout was the caftan cover-up that closed the show. Swirled braided details gave the flowing, coral boho garment just a hint of finesse for wherever you may roam.

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