IMG Announces New Miami Fashion Week
IMG’s 7th on Sixth is putting Miami in the spotlight, adding to its roster a new international fashion week focusing on swimwear. Its fashion weeks already include Olympus Fashion Week in New York and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
Called Sunglass Hut Swim Shows Miami, the event will be held July 16–20 at The Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. As the name suggests, retailer Sunglass Hut is the title sponsor. Invista’s Lycra brand is a presenting sponsor.
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau said it had approached 7th on Sixth about producing a fashion event in Miami. The city already plays host to the swimwear industry’s major semiannual trade event, the Miami Swim Show, and to fashion industry folks and celebrities who work and vacation in the region. The runway shows will run concurrently with the Miami Swim Show.
“With more and more designers creating or licensing swimwear lines, there is a definite need within the international fashion industry for organized runway shows,” said Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth and vice president of IMG, in a statement.
Florida is a huge market for California swimwear companies. Thomas McNeel, owner of bikini maker Love Surf Love in Costa Mesa, Calif., said that “a lot of the product comes from California, but a lot of the product is sold in Florida.”
IMG said it will announce designers participating in the new event later in the year. —Khanh T.L. Tran
