L.A. Fashion Week Spring '08: Beach Bunny Swimwear

Swimwear was in scarce supply on the runway this season, but Angie Chittenden of Newport Beach, Calif.–based Beach Bunny Swimwear filled the void with an Oct. 17 show held at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.

Chittenden knows something about bikinis, having modeled swimsuits for Maxim, Stuff and other men’s publications. As a designer, she’s become known for bringing elements of lingerie into her swimwear collection.

For her Spring line, she branched off into four categories: “rock,” “love,” “dare” and “dream,” all featuring bikinis, bandeaus and halter suits trimmed with French and Italian lace and embellished with strings of pearls and linked with luxury hardware such as gold chains, rings, fleur-de-lis symbols and lock-and-key sets. Chittenden also introduced a number of not-for-swim leather suits detailed with studs and stones. —Robert McAllister