(From top) Anupamaa Dayal’s beachwear collection, Jaisalmer to Ibiza, comes in a burst of vivid colours; Parvesh and Jai offer sheer wraps to make the transition from swimwear to resortwear smooth; A reversible maillot from Ranna Gill’s Havana collection is accessorised with a wide-brimmed sunhat and funky jewellery; The signature beachwear collection by Shrivan Narresh is replete with tankinis with accentuated hiplines

It’s the summer for toning up. And beaches are being overrun by buffed bodies flaunting risqué designer swimsuits — strapless versions of bikinis, almost not-there, wispy stringy two-pieces or dangerously deep-cut one-pieces.

So, the beach is the catwalk and the mood is unabashedly Resort. And giving in to this delicious holiday mood is a clutch of fashion designers — old and new — who have diversified into swimwear very seriously and included it as part of their exclusive resortwear collections.

A few years ago Malini Ramani, Anupamaa Dayal and Rina Dhaka were perhaps the only top designers who treaded uncharted territory and put swimwear on their designer runways. But today, many more designers have jumped on to the swimwear bandwagon and offer a veritable treasure trove of itsy bitsy numbers.

Dip into Ranna Gill’s collection of stylish maillots or one-piece swimsuits, or go for Shrivan Bhatia and Narresh Kukreja’s collection of tankinis that are a cross between bikinis and tank tops or their strapless bikinis also known as bandeaux.

Then there’s Kavita Bhartia’s maillots that are cut out rather daringly to show off toned abs.

Expect to stop dead in your tracks when Sanchita Ajjampur shows you her oomphy creations — mini bikinis that are exactly as the Brazilians wear them. They come in three little naughty triangles. For colour and kitsch, it’s Parvesh Kumar Sharma and Jai Prakash Singh’s tie-up string bikinis and halter bikinis.

What’s hot in swimwear? Well, you can raise temperatures a few degrees by mixing and matching colours. “The fun lies in mismatched ensembles,” says Ajjampur, who works with contrasts in her line of swimwear and resort dresses. For instance, she sets off a purple bottom with an orange or fuchsia bikini top.

And according to Narresh, there’s nothing as hot as the bandeau bikini. “But if you are a bit worried about how secure it is, go for a bandeau with halter ties. The bandeau doesn’t carry a sporty image, but a rather sexy one,” he says.

Fancy a tankini? That’s the other style to hit the beach this summer. If Lady Gaga wears them to perfection, so do most Hollywood A-listers. “It works for women with good torsos,” says Narresh.

Oh, and don’t forget the one-shoulder maillots. They are riding high on the charts of international fashion designers.

Back home, besides the usual Lycra and Spandex numbers, expect a lot more fabrication. Try Chanderi, Kota or even khadi swimwear — that’s frankly not meant to hit the waters, but to lounge around the pool.

There’s enough going to fill your holiday wardrobe with and to head for the beach looking diva-esque.

On the Sands

“My woman likes to wear two-pieces on vacations, teaming them with a kaftan for a stroll around town or a sarong before heading to the spa. She fits them to suit her lifestyle,” says designer Ranna Gill. She kickstarted her resortwear line, replete with swimwear, in 2008 drawn towards it by her own quest for a perfect swimsuit.

“I love to go swimming but unfortunately there was no one selling half-way decent swimwear in India. For years I was buying my swimwear in New York from Bergdorf’s or Barney’s while a blizzard would be raging outside,” says Gill. Her selling point is her two-looks-in-one swimsuits that are reversible.

Blacks have been banned in her latest Spring/ Summer collection called ‘Havana’. Instead Gill has filled it with bright and happy colours like coral, fuchsia, tangerine, aquamarine and perky yellow. A few are colour-blocked (whereby bold colours are combined with geometric patterns), some in solid colours while others come in signature Ranna Gill graphic and geometric prints — hot from the runway.

When Kavita Bhartia unveiled her Spring/Summer 2010 collection, it featured just one-piece swimsuits in a mix of Lycra and cotton. But since her clients inundated her with requests for bikinis, she tweaked the line to include them as well. “I gave the bikinis interesting necklines,” says Bhartia.

Sanchita Ajjampur, another big name in resortwear with clients like Shakira and Beyonce Knowles, is designing swimwear that you can carry with you on holidays in Goa, Maldives, Miami or Porto Fino. And she is all for keeping the look glamorous and sexy, peppered with a hint of the naive.

“I have woven animal fables and tales into my resortwear. The swimwear comes with prints of clinging koala bears or embroidered tortoises and hares which lend an innocent touch to an otherwise naughty look,” she says.

Her repertoire includes a gamut of designs — the ’40s style, modest, bottom-covered swimsuits, mini bikinis and even hot pants to go with regular bikini tops.

If the designer swimwear market has grown in leaps and bounds, it has drawn the beachwear specialists, the designer duo Shrivan Bhatia and Narresh Kukreja to shift their studio from Milan to Delhi.

“The demands are such that we are even providing global personal services by flying down wherever you are to customise swimsuits, within the country or abroad,” says Narresh. They launched their label, Shrivan Narresh, at Mare di Moda, the beachwear trade fair in Cannes, last year.

Their USP is the customised, stitch-free bikini (the only other brands offering stitch-free bikinis are Armani Privé and La Perla). However, their Spring-Summer collection of 2010, Aquatic Prism, focuses on futuristic prints. The Shrivan Narresh colour story includes grey and deep blue to bright orange and yellow in tankinis and bandeaux and some hot one-shoulder maillots.

Beach to Club

Once the sun slips down the horizon, it’s time for glamorous evenings and Mojitos. And these are evenings when beachwear undergoes a transition. Diaphanous kaftans, sleek jumpsuits and sarongs are thrown casually over bikinis to transform them into evening wear for yacht or club parties. That’s when glamorous touches like beading, snakeskin prints, embroidery, crystals and shiny metallic colours enter the realm of swimwear.

Anupamaa Dayal’s ‘Jaisalmer meets Ibiza’ collection is worth checking out. While she goes explosive with the colours of the desert and the beach in fuchsias, oranges and electric blues, the swimwear isn’t for the waters. For, the sequins that embellish her swimsuits would be spoilt if touched by the salty sea. She suggests that you slip on sheer tunics and kaftans or knotted skirts and translucent, cropped pants for the evening look and accessorise with funky jewellery and big bags.

“My swimwear is to be strictly worn to a club or resort. I’ve used organic, lightweight fabrics like Chanderis, georgettes, chiffons and organzas to design my collection of swimwear and beachwear,” says Dayal who is one of the oldest in the fray to play with beachwear.

“The look is more at home in the jet-setting environs of Majorca, Bali, the Greek Islands and Ibiza,” adds the designer. Her bikinis come in chic solid gold and aquamarine colours.

Other designers thinking along similar lines are Parvesh Kumar Sharma and Jai Prakash Singh. Their swimwear, in Kota and khadi, too is strictly not for the waters. Their beachwear label, Blue Coral, was born in 2006 and offers swimwear studded with colourful stones on maillots, halter bikinis and tie-up string bikinis. Since the theme of their latest collection is marine life, watch out for hand-printed or embroidered fish on their swimwear. “Because a fish is a traveller and travelling is what we like doing,” says Singh.

To keep up with the decadent lifestyle at beach resorts, Ajjampur warns against a sloppy look. “It is imperative to flaunt swimwear and cover-ups that can help you make a smooth transition from the beach to the cocktail party without much ado,” she says. She offers beach-bags, flip-flops, pareos (Italian for sarongs) and kaftans in her resortwear collection and experiments with silk, muslin, paper silk and georgette for the chic look.

Bikini Babble

(From top left) Parvesh Kumar Sharma and Jai Prakash Singh’s beachwear label, Blue Coral, offers kitschy designs in a range of kaleidoscopic colours; Sanchita Ajjampur keeps the look of beachwear glamorous and sexy; Kavita Bhartia’s maillots are cut daringly low with interesting necklines

But the trick lies in wearing the right swimwear. And how do you know which one to pick? According to Gill, ask yourself what you’re looking for: functional swimwear or something glam to lounge around in.

Apart from the snug fit (not the bulging-snug), go for adjustable straps on the back and neck. Ajjampur feels it’s best to try them on and observe the cut and shape. If you’re of petite proportions, low-rise bikinis will be perfect while halter necks will make the midriff look elongated and slender. And for a pear shaped body, high-cut leg shapes will do the trick.

If you are blessed with a tall, lean body, you can invest in most two-pieces and even hot pants. And for a shapely silhouette, consider string bikinis.

Last but not the least, don’t get tied down by buying bikinis in sets. Adds Ajjampur: “Go for a different sizing/ colours for the top and the bottom.”

Price Cache

Technical expertise is of crucial importance for designers creating swimwear. “You need to be educated about Lycra and Spandex, the fitting and cuts. Designing swimwear is almost as difficult as designing lingerie,” says Ajjampur who collaborated with the swimwear departments of La Perla and Armani before launching her resort label.

Shrivan and Narresh, who fashion their Aquatic Prism out of fluid soft cotton jerseys and Lycra, did their specialisations before they set out to make swimwear. After completing their fashion studies in Delhi and at the Instituto Europeo di Design in Italy, they worked with some Italian masters for added measure.

Since customisation is their speciality, they fly down where you are within India for 1,000 Euros (Rs 58,042) which covers the cost of a customised swimsuit and cover-up dress. For global services they charge 9,000 Euros (Rs 5.2 lakh). Expect a customised maillot, bikini and two cover-dresses within the price.

Meanwhile, their beach collection —available at their Hauz Khas Village studio in Delhi, and also from White in Delhi, Aman Bagh in Rajasthan and Chamomile and Ensemble in Mumbai —starts at Rs 6,600 and goes up to Rs 14,000.

Dayal has priced her collection between Rs 5,000 and Rs 9,000, while Gill has tagged her beachwear at a surprisingly affordable Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,500.

Ajjampur, whose label Sanchita retails out of The Gallery at The Leela, Gurgaon, Ensemble in Delhi and Mumbai, Amethyst in Chennai and 85, Lansdowne in Calcutta, pegs her collection upwards of Rs 1,800.

Swimwear can be fun and open to accessorisation. Says Dayal: “There is this sanction to go crazy with swimwear. It’s for the holidays which anyway mean freedom and escapism. So yes, it’s time to go sexy.”