This summer’s women’s swimwear embraces an effortless yet thoughtful resort aesthetic. Designers are crafting pieces that seamlessly transition from lounge to beach and beyond, with modular items that work for seaside and city. Coordinates tap into ‘70s riviera chic, while athletic silhouettes blur the line between performance and fashion. Prints take inspiration from ombré but reinvigorate it with vibrant graphics. The elevated swimsuit emerges as a hero piece, taking cues from the bodysuit trend with lavish embellishments. And versatile cover-ups like the beach robe carry their appeal from lounge to boardwalk. This season sees designers creating multifunctional swimwear perfect for the woman looking to pare down her vacation wardrobe.
Table of Contents:
● Chic one-pieces: The elevated swimsuit
● Versatile layering: The beach robe
● Athletic silhouettes: The sporty swim set
● ‘70s riviera chic: The knitted resort set
● Vibrant graphics: The soft focus print
● Final thoughts
Chic one-pieces: The elevated swimsuit
The elevated swimsuit is emerging as a hero piece this season that takes the simplicity of a one-piece but adds fashion-forward embellishments and textures. Designers are taking cues from the sustained popularity of the bodysuit, translating elements of its versatile and sleek aesthetic for statement-making beachwear.
Texture is key for adding depth and visual interest. Openwork fabrics, lattice details, and off-kilter constructions inject dimension while still allowing for flexibility and comfort. Appliqués ranging from floral motifs to abstract shapes create eye-catching three-dimensional surfaces. Sustainably-sourced embellishments like beads, shells, and metallic accents offer artisanal touches with sparkling results.
Silhouettes also skew sleek, often taping into athletic-inspired lines with higher cut legs or Across the body strapping. Necklines run the gamut from sporty crew necks to dramatic plunging Vs to intriguing halters. Hardware stands out as well, with designers incorporating statement rings, slides, and toggles.
Modularity remains essential to extend functionality from beach to beyond. Many elevated swimsuits feature removable straps or pair with coordinated coverups to enable easy transitioning between destinations.
Overall, designers enable the elevated swimsuit to make a splash as a head-turning swim option while still keeping wearability and versatility central components. The key is creating intrigue through considered details while maintaining a lightweight, comfortable base that fits seamlessly into a modern woman’s varied vacation wardrobe.
Versatile layering: The beach robe
The beach robe is cementing its status as a versatile cover-up with crossover appeal for both beachside and urban settings. Initially spotlighted during Miami Swim Week, this lightweight layering piece works as a stylish complement to swimwear while also translating effortlessly from seaside to city street.
Designers are having fun with the silhouette, often taking inspiration from traditional kimono shapes, fluid dusters, or deconstructed shirtdresses. While silhouettes stay loose and breezy for relaxed resortwear appeal, fabrications range from subtly sheer voiles to brightly-hued crisp poplins that hold their structure. Prints and patterns also run the gamut, as beach robes serve as the perfect canvas for both vibrant large-scale graphics as well as more nostalgic paisleys and florals befitting of a cabana set.
Extra details provide visual interest while also adding functionality. Self-tie waists cinch in shape while still allowing a customizable fit. Oversized patch pockets offer space to stash essentials en route to the beach while fringed trim and macramé add artisanal flair. Designers also have fun with texture, utilizing natural materials like raffia, seagrass, and polished coconut wood buttons for tropical touches.
As a whole, the beach robe’s winning combination of unfussy throw-on-and-go wearability, versatile styling potential, and consciously designed details using natural materials position it as an effortless layering piece with staying power for seasons to come.
Athletic silhouettes: The sporty swim set
Athletic swimwear continues its rise in popularity, as designers adopt performance-centric silhouettes that also deliver on style. Sporty swim sets fuse fashion with function through considered fabrications and unexpected design details.
Many sporty swim sets take cues directly from activewear, incorporating bike shorts, rash guards, and color-blocked racing backsuits into their fashion-forward offerings. Strategic cutouts, asymmetric strapping, and mixed media fabrications inject visual dynamism and modern edge. Sets also experiement with proportions, playing with volume through cinched bodices contrasted against boxing shorts and oversized pull-on trunks.
At the same time, designers ensure wearability remains a focus through stretch fabrics with sculpting compression, quick-dry properties, and UPF protection. Some choose more sustainable eco-friendly Italian mills that use regenerated nylon or recycled polyester spun from recovered ocean plastics.
While skewing sportier in silhouette, designers balance athleticism with alluring feminine details like floral intelligence mesh or shirred smocked bodices. Bursts of hyper-saturated tropicana hues and abstract prints also lend vibrancy. Mystery blue makes a splash as swimwear’s color of the moment.
In total, the sporty swim set primes the category for growth by imbuing performance with personality. Structure meets whimsy and technology intersects with trend to yield multifunctional pieces that work overtime, easily transitioning from beach run to cocktail hour. These are athletic swimsuits made for making a scene.
‘70s riviera chic: The knitted resort set
Breezy knitted separates usher in ’70s riviera chic with a modern sustainable edge. Designers are leveraging lightweight open gauge knits to craft coordinating cabana sets and caftans that epitomize throwback resort style.
Silhouettes stay relaxed yet flattering through thoughtfully placed openwork stitches and side slits that allow air flow. Neutral hues provide versatility to mix and match while also providing an earthy palette for artisanal embellishments. Crochet, macramé, shells, and wooden beads add organic texture.
To ensure sets have receptive consumers in a climate-conscious retail environment, circular production takes priority. Many designers source natural fibers like organic cotton, Tencel, and linen, which have lower environmental impact compared to synthetic fibers. In addition to biodegradability benefits, these fiber types also lend themselves better to recycling processes to enable extension of their lifecycles.
In addition to material selection, responsible manufacturing helps lower impact. Some brands utilize renewable energy in production, while also keeping transparent supply chains to trace processes from farm to finished product. Usage of non-toxic dyes and minimizing water waste also improve sustainability profiles.
Ultimately, the modern knitted resort set strikes the perfect vacation style chord by pairing free-spirited bohemian inspiration with an underlying socially-conscious mission. The sustainable foundations enable the breezy chic coordinates to filter effortlessly from seaside cabana to city street for seasons on end.
Vibrant graphics: The soft focus print
Prints take a kaleidoscopic turn this season, as designs look to reenergize ombré with bright prismatic graphics. Dubbed “soft focus”, these vibrant allover patterns provide visual dynamism while remaining harmoniously blurred at the edges to elicit a dream-like quality.
Electric Kumquat, Radiant Raspberry, and Sunset Coral emerge as prevalent soft focus palette picks, with their saturated citrus and coral hues. Softer Primrose Yellow also makes cameos for a brighter spring-like iteration of the trend.
Placement proves more abstract, with graphical shapes floating in stacked formations rather than predictable dip-dye ombré gradients. Circles, diagonals, botanical silhouettes, and amorphous spots commingle for intriguing compositions. Dense concentrated patterns sometimes color block with negative white space.
To enable easier recycling of printed fabrics, digital printing leads implementation. The technique greatly reduces water usage compared to traditional screen printing while requiring fewer noxious chemicals. As awareness grows regarding microplastics shedding from fabrics into waterways, solutions-oriented brands also utilize alternative natural inks with non-toxic formulas.
Ultimately the soft focus print in its kaleidoscopic iterations provides a new point of view for swimwear graphics. Vibrant colors and organic compositions appeal aesthetically while digital foundations care for aquatic ecosystems. Expect blissed-out poolside style when this head-in-the-clouds trend hits the summer scene.
Final thoughts
This summer’s women’s swimwear cleverly fuses fashion and function through versatile offerings that carry wearers effortlessly from lounge to beach and beyond. Multifunctionality stands as the driving ethos behind designs, with modular pieces equally at home seaside or city. Athleisure shapes new sporty suits while breezy knits epitomize throwback resort chic. The elevated swimsuit makes a splash as a hero piece with staying power thanks to allover embellishment. And sustainable foundations enable even the most carefree prints and patterns to make a consciously minded statement. Expect swimwear that seamlessly bridges destinations all season long.
