From surfside to seaside, the beach lifestyle prevails in children’s swimwear for Season 2016.

Designers are inspired by surfer style, island chic and nautical influences this season. Feminine inspiration including floral prints, ruffle trims and mix-and-match swimwear are strong for girls while vintage prints, plaids and stripes are key for boys. Ready-to-wear trends including activewear, sophisticated prints and matching cover-ups are filtering down to the childrenswear market. And of course, vibrant digital prints, happy vibes and sunshine continue to drive design inspiration creating more fashionable, sun-protective options for the beach.

Comfortable, wearable lifestyle clothing and active apparel is the most directional going forward according to SQUIRTINI BIKINl’s Farley Boyle, co-owner and designer. “I see active apparel influencing the swim industry across the board,” says Boyle. “Kids want to look good while ultimately being comfortable, which means sporty tops without construction, separates and mix-and-match options are here to stay,• she says. Cover-ups in easy-to-wear, breathable fabrics that coordinate with swimwear are also eye-catching. New trends for the season include bright colors, festive fun graphics and whimsicality.

JUST BONES BOARDWEAR takes its inspiration from surfwear for Cruise 2016. “Some of the top surf destinations across the globe are the theme for our prints this season,” says Jennifer Weisman. owner and designer. “The hottest new trends are textured with vintage prints for boys and floral and Aztec prints for girls,” explains Weisman who adds that plaid is still going strong. “We always make prints our own: she says. “Going forward, vintage prints and boho chic are the most directional,” says Weisman.

Taking inspiration from Morocco, LIMEAPPLE’s 2016 collection of prints portrays a bright-color palette. “We’re seeing a lot of intricate and eclectic details and colors in swimwear that is very much influenced by these exotic destinations,” says Debbie Naren, founder and design director. “The collection is also strongly influenced by sporty silhouettes-we have a lot of crop tops, front zippers, geometric lines and mesh inserts that allude to the sporty aesthetic,· she says. Big trends for the season includes the cropped tankini. bright, bold floral prints, fringe, cut-outs, crochet cover-ups. dip-dye accents and color blocking.

UV protection is synonymous with the nearly 15 year-old BABY BANZ swimwear collection. “We see swimwear as being playwear and it needs to be protective, fun and functional,” says Shari Murphy, director of operations for Baby Sanz USA. This season the Perth, Australia-based company has added a separate floral line for girls and a nautical line for boys, ages newborn to two years. The collection includes long-sleeve UV rash tops and one-piece UV swimsuits as well as swim diapers to make it easy for parents to keep their infants covered.

PLATYPUS AUSTRALIA continues to feature fun, colorful prints and plenty of mix-and-match options for its UV-protective swimwear collection. Design inspiration for younger girls includes candy-striped florals, conversational flamingo prints and seashell prints with fluorescent accents. For older girls, designers utilized trendy Aztec and geometric prints from the adult market in aquamarine tones. New cover-up options include lightweight sundresses, terry cloth dresses and printed leggings. For boys, prints feature graphic waves, sporty nautical themes and island motifs. Also prominent are contrasting stripes, chevron, gingham and plaids.

The beautiful beaches of Brazil inspired PLANET SEA this season. Founder and designer Adriana Dranoff says, “one of the newest trends is for kids to incorporate rash guards as a fashionable item.” “Moms never wanted to put their kids in rash guards [before) because they weren’t trendy,” she explains. “Now I’m doing a lot of different shapes with ruffled sleeves and I’m applying some embroidery.” This season Dranoff is continuing to expand her line of coordinating cover-ups to include more stylish options for UV protection. She also utilized digital printing to create her sophisticated signature prints as well as quick-drying Microflex fabrics that have UV50+ sun protection.

Infused with a vintage-inspired, seaside chic look for 2016, SNAPPER ROCK is also expanding its collection and offering separates for the first time. “That is really a big deal for us,” says Vice President of Sales and US Operations Julie Rich.

“We’ve actually designed the collection where the colors will all coordinate with each other in some manner,” she explains, adding, “rash guards and cover-ups are made to coordinate with suits made in the collection’s exclusive digital prints.” New this season are bandeau tops, beach pants, fringe and halter necklines as well as a neoprene jacket, vest and even a bikini. For boys, more boardshorts have been added in trending 4-way stretch fabrics. The surf lifestyle is a continual inspiration for the sun-protective line, which originally launched with rash guards, Rich explains. “In the very beginning, the whole notion of sun-protective clothing was so utilitarian, but it’s become so much more fashion forward and fun, and fresh and bright.”