At the Paris collections, collective gasps are usually heard when a YSL pussy bow bounds down the runway, or a high-necked high-priestess McQueen cape suddenly emerges, as if by magic. In Rio, it’s the swimsuits that elicit involuntary gasps—and not just from bodyguarded society ladies, perma-smiling telenovela stars, or front-row tranny friends of the designer.

Such audibles were heard at Fashion Rio’s summer ’13 collections last week, when, for example, Triya sent out a long-sleeved frilled spandex one-piece seemingly taken from the set of Xanadu. It also happened when Lenny, niece of the legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, put one of her models in what can only be described as an all-over fishing net, with several squares filled in to cover the catches of the day. Salinas got in on the action with sweet plaid bikinis that could have been swiped from Maryanne’s pigtails, while Cia Maritima put Victoria’s Secret Angel Izabel Goulart and Aline Weber in jungle-ready animal prints. 

Cariocas take their swimsuits as seriously as they do Carnaval. The creativity is endless. Have a look for yourself…