Business Notes APPAREL

What's fashionable and formfitting on the beach this year? Answer: the rubber look. Robin Piccone, a California designer, has set off a sizzling fashion wave with bathing suits made of neoprene, the synthetic rubber from which scuba-diving wet suits are made. The material is both cool -- air circulates freely through the fabric's myriad pores -- and cosmetic, since it streamlines imperfections on otherwise delectable forms.

Body Glove Swimwear, Piccone's company, has sold more than 33,000 one- and two-piece suits (priced from $40 to $130) in hot pink, fluorescent green and & other vibrant colors. Top designers like Norma Kamali and Gianfranco Ferre are turning out similar fashions. Coming soon from Body Glove: a line of neoprene car coats and miniskirts.