From Beach to Boho Chic, Diversity in Design at Sao Paulo Fashion Week (Fashion Wire Daily)

Sao Paulo - The second day of Sao Paulo Fashion Weeks Summer 2009 season came to a close on Wednesday night with a collection highlighting an area of particular Brazilian expertise, beachwear.

Cia Maritima, which made its U.S. runway debut last summer at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami Swim shows, is one of Brazils top high-end swim label exports and a brand to watch when it comes to the latest beach trends.

With a disco-like setting underneath a modernist concrete pavilion in Sao Paulos Ibirapuera Park near the Oscar Niemeyer-designed Bienial building, the site of the shows this week, Cia Maritima sent out a dizzying array of seventies-inspired swim and beach looks on top models like show opener and closer Karolina Kurkova. There were tie-dyed caftans and swirling psychedelic prints and bikinis, cut in the typically itsy-bitsy Brazilian style, featured wide, flat ties and a host of hardware, from brass beads to square plastic buckles. Sexy one-piece suits, taking cues from the disco era featured plunging v-necks and cut outs. A suit with wide shoulder straps, almost like a bodysuit, could work both for the beach during the day or transition into night with a skirt thrown on over it.

This year marks the centenary of Japanese immigrants in Brazil, the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. To celebrate, Sao Paulo Fashion Weeks theme this year focuses on Japan, with exhibitions highlighting Japanese designers like Kenzo, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Comme des Garcons and a historical display of kimonos.

Japans influence on design could be felt in the Fause Haten show, as far as following in the tradition of avant-garde design. One of the most popular collections shown at SPFW, Fause Haten showed an eveningwear collection that included narrow silk cocktail dresses featuring origami folds and sculptural bubble skirts. A chic periwinkle blue silk pajama-like pantsuit especially stood out in this collection that never seemed to hit a cohesive mark, falling somewhere between a 2008 version of "Dallas," a 1980s prom or "Blade Runner."

Wes Andersons 2007 film "The Darjeeling Limited," with its wealthy prepster characters on a bohemian soul-searching journey, provided the theme for menswear label V. Rom, who distilled the narrative into a collection of looks for free-spirited men with a carefully constructed boho look. Loud Liberty of London-style prints, brashly colored pants in bright red or green, pegged pant cuffs, waistcoats and preppy suit jackets seemed to scream, "Im rich and eccentric, so what?"

Sassy womenswear label Triton mixed butterfly imagery - fluttery laser-cut layers of petals, ruffles and butterfly prints - with an homage to 1980s Thierry Mugler, with corseted waists and voluminous bubble skirts, mixed with a little punk rock flavor in the form of tartan plaids, zippered front dresses and studded belts. Disheveled blond updos and dark smokey eyes would have made Debbie Harry jealous.