DolceVita Fashion: Itsy-bitsy Summer Specials

Modest ladies under wraps, modest ladies bared (almost) to the bone: it's all up to a little patch of cloth...or should we say synthetics and new age techno-fibers? The big question before leaving on summer holiday is always which bathing suit to take: the one-piece or the two-piece? Mini or maxi coverage? Elaborate or basic?This is all of no consideration, of course, to those who swim and sun in the nude. It's a real predicament for the rest of us, though, especially when swimsuit manufacturers keep coming up with new ideas and designs (however impractical or extreme) to cope with the complexities of "fun in the sun". Today's Made in Italy swimwear As sagely pointed out by a journalist for Marie Claire (English edition) this season's swimsuits fall into two distinct categories: those intended for swimming and those designed solely to attract attention. The Made in Italy lines this year offer ample selection.There are attractive, yet attractively practical one-pieces which are nearly athletic in s tyling. Prime examples are Fendi, Krizia (with a watercolor panther motif), Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani (featuring a smoky floral pattern), Les Copains (irregular brushstrokes of color), Gianfranco Ferrè Jeans (floral patchwork design), Schön (two-piece look), Marina Spadafora (weave of contrasting micro-fibers). Delicious and a little malicious: the bikinis. Bluemarine's line is ultra-feminine with dotted, floral and op-art prints. Summer Vamp: Versace to Ferrè. Fendi The lion's share of accolades for this season, in terms of creativity, goes to the vamp look worked by Italian designers, ever increasingly brash. Along these lines, Fendi has produced a line of one and two-pieces in blocks of black and white with revealing tops and high-cut legs in addition to several provocative models using netting with strategically placed circles and triangles. Genny's collection is freshly all white, with a preference for ruffles. Gianni Versace's look is transparent and strewn with hearts, while Istante favors the nude-look. Salvatore Ferragamo has come out with two-pieces with peek-a-boo stripes. This year's biggest vibrations -shock waves?- however, are emanating from four names: Missoni, Gucci, Gianfranco Ferrè; and Lawrence Steele, an American designer created and produced in Italy. The first of these, Missoni, has chosen a look somewhere between hippy e and carioca which features a never-before-seen fake fur needlepoint fabric. Gucci and Steele have gone in for somewhat spectacular loincloths which leave the derrière completely exposed. Ferré, on the other hand has opted for refined and sensual black suits completely lined with a stretch body. Genny Versace Ferragamo Missoni Gucci