Fashion Rio showcases the latest bikini trend in Brazil

Brazil's hottest bikini trends go on display at Fashion Rio, the city's five-day-long fashion extravaganza that began on April 15. Designer Lenny Niemeye, Brazil's bikini queen, with an empire of chic boutiques and legions of VIP fans that include Hollywood A-listers and pop royalty had a scintillating show at the week-long beachwear spectacle. (AP)

Lenny is known for her use of muted earth tones and the clean, almost architectural lines of her swimwear, Niemeyer sells some 350,000 pieces a year, mostly at her 26 boutiques throughout the country. (AP)

Her recent signature pieces include a bikini in slate gray, an asymmetrical one-piece with a wavy metallic stripe down one side and a cage-like long-sleeve one-piece made from a mesh of 1 centimeter-wide strips of spandex. (AP)

While still almost alarmingly itsy-bitsy by American standards, Lenny's bikinis are less revealing than most bikinis in Rio, and less flashy and cutesy than the bubblegum pink offerings of many swimwear labels. (AP)

Meanwhile, Brazil's fashion elite unveiled the latest trends from their summer 2014 collections which began with a parade of bikinis and other beachwear created by the always-vibrant designer Blue Man, considered one of the pioneers of Brazilian beach fashion.

A model wears a creation from the Blue Man summer collection. (AP)

The designs fuse Baroque Portuguese motifs with the liveliness of Brazilian fauna and flora patterns. (AP)