Friday, July 30, 2010
Miami Fashion Week - Nicolita Swimwear Show
July 29, 2:16 PM
Santa Ana Fashion News ExaminerWritten by Jessica Du
Hot Hot Hot!
As the world's most prominent Swimwear lines gathered in Miami Beach for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, the sun glared and watered glittered beautifully to prepare for the setting of long runways and model mayhem.
Miami is a perfect city full of life and culture to present Swim Collections year after year.
As Monday arrived, the Grande Cabana Tent at The Raleigh Hotel was a buzz with excited attendees and busy production staff. The Nicolita Show was set and ready to start at 7:30pm. Lights dimmed and the first look down the runway was a blue one piece from The Madeira Tropical Group. The blue print is of wooden panels while the gold braided straps were made to mimic rope, very clever. Models strutted down past flashing bulbs in bright Cuban inspired works of glossy spandex while polka-dotted over lay art shined for the invited guests. Rallying in the show bright burst of Red, Yellow and Greens took shape in the form of twisted bandeau tops and tied 'no-pinch' bottoms adorn with traditional ruffled fiesta sleeves.
The Nicolita Swimwear wear line started and was founded in 2005 by Designer, Nicole Di Rocco. This year's collection was inspired by her Cuban Heritage and the concept of styling for the Latina or Curvy figure. Celebrating the more shapely body form is welcoming to all women, of all races. This was evident even in the casted models that were booked for this show in Miami. Models with pretty curves flaunted their happy figures with pride for what they look like and who they are.
Coming to a close of a great day under the tents, a celebration was forming at the Official After-Party in The Raleigh Hotel Penthouse! Nicole announced a special collaboration with SiTV had been filmed. As a dream come true, Di Rocco received the opportunity to reunite her parent's with their homeland of Cuba; to do an on-location photo shoot for Nicolita Swimwear. Having been away from Cuba for after 49 years it was a heart-warming way for them to share with Di Rocco all the cultural heritage of her family's roots. There The Designer comes to her own, learning the significance and greatness of being Cuban American. Stay tuned, the touching look back is set to debut on SiTV: November 7th, 2010. What a monumental way of coming back full circle
Miami Fashion Week - Nicolita Swimwear Show
Check Out the Collection at MyNicolita.com
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Miss Puerto Rico,Yeidy Bosques, Headlines Nicolita Mercedes-Benz Fashion Show
VOGUE.COM features Nicolita fashion show
Bikinis That Will Make You Miss Cuba, Miami New Times
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Categories: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim
It's the 1940s. You jump out of your Cadillac convertible to lay out on el Varadero, sip some mojitos, and get some sun. Nicole Di Rocco has made such time travel possible with her funky line of Cuba-inspired bikinis. It's not just the cuts that are Cuban retro - some of suits have prints of platanos, dominos, cigars, and even the mountain ranges of Cuba's Vinales Valley.
Di Rocco, a Cuban-American from California, created Nicolita Swimwear in 2003 to bring her parents' Cuban heritage to life. In 2009, a documentary was made when the designer traveled to Cuba for an on-location photo shoot and to reunite her parents with their homeland and family after 49 years.
She was in Miami on Monday for her runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim. New Times spoke to Di Rocco about what inspired the collection, her trip to Cuba, and the documentary she created to bring nostalgic Cubans back to their homeland.
At her runway show, Di Rocco included fun, vintage-inspired Cuban-style bottom - which, by the way, have more coverage on the hips, a heart-shaped backside, and no-pinch-fit elastic. They're perfect for Latinas' backside curves. King of fashion kitsch, Jeremy Scott, would probably crown the sassy Nicolita as his queen, with all of her cutesy Cuban sandwiches and mojitos printed right on her old-world bikinis.
New Times: What inspired you to take the trip back to your parents homeland?
Nicole Di Rocco: It was just this past year when I found out that Obama was allowing Cuban Americans to go back. I've always wanted to go back with my parents. I thought it was important to at least see where they were born. After some convincing and a lot of paperwork, we were able to put together this trip. I knew I wanted to bring Nicolita to Cuba because that's really the reason why I started Nicolita, to have the opportunity to reach back to my Cuban heritage. Growing up on the West Coast, you really don't have that everyday influence of Cuban heritage and roots.
So tell me about Nicolita.
I created this character, which is my nickname, but she's my muse. She's just this fun, flirty Cubanita that wants to do the strangest things in her caliente bikinis. I have had her go to Spain in a bullfighting ring, and to belly dancing in Morocco.
All the photos that we did were all over historical areas of Cuba. I have a cigar bikini that I got to shoot in a cigar factory on a rolling table. I was looking to recapture that moment of the old world and how it was, and give that back to my parents. It was a really emotional trip. It was life-changing. Absolutely life-changing.
So if you've been designing for eight years, where does the inspiration keep coming from?
Well I've always wanted it to have this '40s feel and these old images of Cuba. But because I couldn't go back, I had to invent my own way of travel. And it's evolved throughout the years [laughs]. But it's always been about her being Cuban.
What inspired this particular collection that you showed at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami?
Yeah. I've always wanted to do this show, but I guess I was just waiting for the right time. I've always designed these fun, flirty, timeless pieces, but another big part of what I did this season was I was able to create custom-printed fabrics, and have a literal translation -- I mean I had going down the runway a Cuban sandwich and a mojito that I made in these prints. Last year, I made tostones, platanos, dominos, cigars. I'm just creating a fun, kitschy, looks, and am novelty-involved with it.
Did you spend any time in Miami at all?
Over the years, we'd always go back to Miami and see family. My parents have an apartment off of 18th Street and James Avenue, and to be able to actually show where I used to walk to the beach every summer as a little kid. We'd get our Cuban sandwiches at Latin American Cafe and eat lunch on the sand, and to be able to be there at this prestigious event as a headlining designer was... I mean. Somebody pinch me.
I was concerned, thinking, "How are Cubans in Miami going to accept this?" But you know what? I've had such an overwhelming support of love. I think it's because I'm presenting it in a way that I'm not doing anything political. I wanted to learn about my family and where I'm from. That was taken away from me... Through the documentary I made they can take this journey that they've longed for without crossing the boundaries of what they believe in. I'm so happy with it, because I hope when Cubans see it, they feel a little closer to what they long for. What is it to be Cuban? What is it that my parents lived?
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Nicolita's favorite snack is Chifles Plaintain Chips
Since Nicolita was a child, she would always snack on Chifles Plaintain Chips. The snack reminds Nicolita of her Cuban roots. They are the perfect snack for any occasion. Plaintains are a member of the Banana family. The two fruits look similar, but plaintains can only be eaten when cooked. After the plaintains are peeled, they are fried in vegetable oil. But don't worry, these snacks are healthy.
They are rich in potassium and vitamin a and c. They also contain 30% less fat than regular potato chips.Look for Chifles Plaintain Chips in a grocery store near you!
Nicolita Fashion Show at the Landmark Steakhouse
On Sunday June 27th 2010, models showed off Nicolita bathing suits at the Landmark Steakhouse restuarant in Newport Beach, CA. The show was a big success! The landmark was celebrating it's fifth year anniversary with a luau themed party. The Nicolita models were the perfect addition to the party! The girls looked great!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Chifles Chips offers taste of Cuba at Miami Swimwear Fashion Week
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release For additional Information, contact:
Stefanie Mackenzie
813.626.9486, Ext. 16
Chifles Chips offers taste of Cuba at Miami Swimwear Fashion Week
Miami, Fla. (July 14, 2010) – Tampa-based Chifles Chips is offering
its organic, healthy snacks to VIPs attending the Nicolita swimwear
show during Miami Swimwear Fashion Week. Chifles plantain chips are
low in fat and use all natural, organic ingredients – the perfect
snack for fashion divas looking to show off their figures in one of
Nicolita’s Cuban-inspired bikinis.
“Chifles was inspired by the memories my husband and I had of the
tasty plantain snacks made by Cuban street vendors,” said Peggy
Argudo, President and CEO of Chifles. “Plantain chips are as iconic to
Cuba as beautiful women, warm ocean breezes and impassioned music.”
Made from just three ingredients – plantains, oil and salt – the
original Chifles plantain chips were first made in the Argudo’s
kitchen. Today, the family owned business, which operates in Tampa,
harvests organic plantains in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala. The
plantains’ skins are removed, and they are sliced lengthwise into
strips, sticks or rounds, and fried. They are then sprinkled with one
of several seasonings ranging from plain salt to Mojo Mama.
Although Chifles taste is authentic to its Cuban heritage, the company
looks to the future in methods and techniques. Recently, Chifles
plantain and cassava – or yucca – chips were certified organic by the
US Department of Agriculture. Chifles products also have zero trans
fats, are gluten free and are Orthodox Union kosher.
“Like Nicolita swimwear, we’re a blend of tradition and innovation,
and in the end, the customer gets quality,” said Argudo.
The Nicolita swimwear show will be Monday, July 19, at 7 p.m. at
Cabana Grande in Miami Beach. Nicolita Swimwear was established by
Nicole Di Rocco, who draws her inspiration from her family’s Cuban
roots and the 1940s era.
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