Swimwear brands are making swimwear design more inclusive

When “Baywatch”-era bathing suits and bikinis reigned in the 1990s, relief for many women came in the form of the tankini — a tank top silhouette that offered more coverage than most two-pieces, but could still be modest, sporty, or otherwise. sexy.

It was one of the few innovations at a time when women’s swimming styles catered to only a few body types and style preferences — and it even received the stamp of approval on the cover of the 1990 swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.

But now swimwear has entered a new golden age, and the swimsuit silhouette has changed. Instead of the same rotations of seasonal twists on the same one- and two-piece pieces, beachgoers can find virtually any style to suit their needs, from gender-inclusive uniforms from brands like TomboyX and Beefcake, to the modest performance lineup from Nike, released in 2019, which includes a hijab.

And while the influencers’ favorite thong bikini is still out there and kicking in, there are also a number of fuller coverage options hitting the market that still evoke beach sex appeal.

Take Kim Kardashian’s latest Skims venture, for example: a range of swimwear in various sizes with campaign imagery that harks back to the bombastic vibe of the ’80s.

But styles so far include cycling outfits, mid-rise, long-sleeved shorts, as well as cropped “monokinis,” triangle bikini tops and bandeaus.

Women looking for plus-size suits no longer have to accept meager offers — at Miami Swim Week in July, designers like Cupshe and Bfyne unveiled collections with sizes that range from cute and tropical to the height of poolside glamour.

For Becca McCharen-Tran, founder of New York-based brand Chromat, whose self-esteem looks are at the forefront of inclusive swimwear, the change is welcome.

“Culture has changed and swimwear is changing to meet this cultural moment,” she told CNN in a telephone interview. “I think it’s exciting.”

The new ‘pool rules’

Chromat has spearheaded the campaign over the past decade with experimental projects and campaigns focusing on diverse models of different ethnicities, body types, abilities, genders and sexualities.

The label’s groundbreaking “Pool Rules” campaign was a hit in 2018 with its “Babe Guard,” a playful riff on the life-saving trope whose role models included breast cancer survivor Ericka Hart, the late disabled rights activist Mama Cax and body positivity. attorney Denise Bidot.

“Our bodies are where we live,” Bidot wrote in an editorial for Teen Vogue about the campaign’s importance to her, “and so we need to show ourselves unconditional love from the inside out.”

McCharen-Tran said swimwear has become Chromat’s most popular line — largely because of its campaigns.

“Swimwear is this product that combines our spirit of celebrating all body types into this outfit that can be so tense and so vulnerable,” she said.

“Our campaigns (were) so different from conventional casting choices. I think people really felt personally connected to the message we were sending.”

Chromat’s latest collection, a collaboration with artist Turmaline, includes designs for people “who don’t bend”, offering swimsuits with handbags created with trans women and non-binary people in mind.

The vibrant collection features separate straps and buckles, a cut-out piece, swim skirts and shorts, bustier tops and zip-up sport suits.

“There is not just one unique way for trans women to appear in public space,” McCharen-Tran said of the collection. “We can go against that expectation of what femininity means, or femme means.”

uniform style

But for many decades, swimwear and femininity followed a narrow path, dictated by Hollywood ideals.

The 1950s and 1960s heralded many of the first iconic swimsuit designs, according to Jacqueline Quinn, a fashion consultant and adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design in New York.

The women who wore them on the big screen came to define the beach body: Marilyn Monroe in a dazzling bathing suit in the romcom “How to Marry a Millionaire,” Deborah Kerr in a halter-top suit in the war novel “From Here to Eternity,” and Ursula Andress in a white bikini with a wide belt for the James Bond movie “Dr. At the.”

“Usually Hollywood was the springboard and the magazines would follow,” Quinn said in a phone interview. “There was almost a dictatorship of the trend — not going after individuality, but more of the copycat kind of mentality.”

The following decades further cemented the slender but curvy bikini bomb archetype from Phoebe Cates’ slow-motion poolside daydream sequence in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” to Reese Witherspoon in “Legally Blonde” filming the shoot. video of Elle Woods in a jacuzzi.

Quinn pointed to the Miracle Suit — a forerunner of Spanx and Athleta shapewear that became popular in the 1990s — as being one of the few brands to offer a wide range of sizes (although the promised “miracle” of looking like a 10-pound slimmer is to raise eyebrows by today’s standards).

change of tide

Now Quinn is excited about the innovation she sees emerging in the industry, from Summersalt’s data-driven approach to measuring 10,000 women for better fits, to Victory Adaptive swimwear for children with disabilities, featuring styles with side zips. Velcro and openings for feeding tubes.

Rebecca Saygi, swimwear and activewear strategist at WGSN, agrees that the swimwear industry has become more expansive in who they’re wearing — and for what reasons.

“Brands are becoming aware of the fact that consumers are more likely to buy a product when they see someone they identify with associated with that product,” Saygi said via email. “Being more inclusive opens up brands to a much broader customer base.”

But she also sees wellness, water sports and activewear having greater clout in the market — in part accelerated by the effects of the pandemic. These athletic styles meet the needs of sunbathers looking for more skin coverage in addition to cover-ups.

“We see brands starting to expand into these categories with eruptive vests, long-sleeved silhouettes and more functional, slightly more modest swimwear options,” she said, pointing to brands like One One and Verdelimon.

McCharen-Tran suggested that Chromat could also explore coverage options for modesty or sun protection, like swim leggings, but still prioritizing styles for everyone. This includes the option to wear “a tiny little strand”, no matter what size, rather than making suits that try to “cover as much of your body as possible”.

“I think it represents a bigger shift in how we feel about showing our bodies. We are no longer ashamed of it and we do not need to hide it,” she said.

“We’re getting to the point of completely covering up if that’s what you want, or being in a thong if that’s what you want, and all that. It’s just different options for everyone to show up at the party.”