By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

We caught up with Red Carter, our favorite swim wear designer after his show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion week swim.  Carter is known for creating sophisticated swimwear with an edge, and lends his contagious charm, unique design outlook and years of industry experience to the wildly popular brand that bears his name. A competitive athlete hailing from Southern California, Red is no stranger to water sports– an accomplished swimmer, diver and water polo player whose obsession with the cinematic glamour of old films and musicals inspired a love for fashion and design that would ultimately shape his future.

Red Carter earned his degree from the Otis/Parson School of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Upon graduation, he got his feet wet designing junior sportswear and active wear for Esprit before putting his creative talent to work at Guess Jeans, Rampage, Mossimo, Victoria’s Secret, and Oscar de la Renta. After years of tutelage from some of the best in the fashion industry, Red was ready to capitalize on his hard work, his way.

After moving to Miami Beach in 2003, Red quickly became inspired by his new surroundings and motivated by the city’s ever-present energy and bold, Art Deco style. Designing and selling out of his apartment, Red established his namesake brand in Miami to reflect and enhance the city’s burgeoning creative spirit.

Since launching his eponymous swimwear collection in 2004, Red Carter has taken the industry by storm utilizing vertical design, development, production, and distribution capability to support Red Carter. With the goal of transforming the collection into a true lifestyle brand, Red Carter recently relocated to New York City where he partnered with the prestigious Amerex Group to re-launch the Red Carter brand and support the logistics and repositioning of his collection to reach more women across America. The Red Carter line is available at leading retailers around the globe and Red’s designs have appeared in top fashion publications such as Vogue, Elle, Lucky, Marie Claire, and Sports Illustrated. Red Carter also has a large celebrity following including Rihanna, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Penelope Cruz, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Aniston. The 2012 Red Carter collections bring traditional classics with a sexy and sophisticated twist that take you from the poolside to the penthouse in style.

Red Carter currently resides in New York City, creating designs that bridge together Miami’s sultry glamour with the fashion capital’s sophisticated style.

What are your favorite places to eat, party, cocktail?

I love to eat at Joes Stone Crab. A la Folie and Yardbird Southern Table & Bar are both great for a quiet bite. The Standard Hotel at sunset is my favorite spot for a cocktail, and maybe a midnight skinny dipping session! I’m on in a low key mood, I’ll go to the Abby Brewing Company or Miami Beach Soundscape for a free movie under the stars

Who are your favorite designers (Whom do you wear!?) Where do you shop?

Karl, Karl, Karl…also Prada and Oscar De La Renta. I like to mix and match high end designers with more affordable lines! I’ll wear Prada and H & M with a sperry top sider mixed in. I also throw in a little vintage to keep things interesting.

What inspires you/ drives your collection?

This season I was inspired by my journey to NYC and what Miami has meant to me. There is an Art Deco group that I am in love, and I am also fascinated with placement prints and sexy, ethnic-inspired groups. Recently, I’ve been really inspired by architectural strapping’s. Bright colors are am absolute must for me for 2013. What drives me is sharing the experience I have in my daily life, because I believe that a good collection is like telling a story…I just happen to tell stories with fabrics and silhouettes.

How do you come up with your original creative show presentations?

I work with an amazing creative team headed by Danny Santiago. We look at the collection and my inspiration and try to translate it onto the runway. All the details and the excitement come together with lighting and a great music team that mixes the show based on the collection’s mood. Throw in some of the top models of Miami and NYC and we are ready for a party. The theme for this season’s show was glitter disco bomb.

Here was our review of this year’s show:

One of the most highly anticipated shows of this year’s MBFWS was that of renowned swimwear designer, Miami’s own Red Carter, who marked his return to South Beach to re-launch his namesake collection and present Resort 2013, before a packed house on a stormy Sunday afternoon.

Set to tribal drumbeats, Carter’s gorgeous suits were modeled by beauties in asymmetric Go-Go girl wigs, and huge cone-shaped straw headpieces, accentuated by disco ball purses, necklaces, bangles- and fabulous shoes making the show almost as much about the accessories as about the bathing suits, which incidentally, repeatedly drew rounds of applause from the audience.

The show was inspired by the glitz and glamour of legendary night club Studio 54 in New York City, Carter’s new home, and bridged classic, sophisticated silhouettes with sexy cut-outs and bold patterns.  Art deco bustiers and off-the-shoulder one-pieces in black and white were coupled with retro tube tops and flared pants as cover-ups. Bronze, black and blue tonal cut-out swimsuits in geometric patterns were “glitter bombed” as Studio 54 would have been on New Year’s Eve. To pay homage to the disco ball, Carter’s suits included foiled, psychedelic designs- one gold suit reminiscent of Princess Leia’s gold bikini, drew an ovation from the crowd.

To add some spice to the retro themed collection, Red also infuses Resort 13 with Aztec and animal prints, ruffles, bandage stripes and a rainbow of colors including orange, yellow, indigo and turquoise.