The thong bikini, once the preserve of celebrities and Love Island contestants, has become a ubiquitous sight this summer. No longer confined to sunny beaches in Brazil or the Caribbean, the skimpiest swimwear is now cropping up everywhere from lidos to leisure centres – and even at an open-water swimming spot on a rainy day in Scotland, where one observer reported a first sighting.
Retailers are responding to the surge in demand. A search for “thong bikini” on Asos yields 187 results, ranging from high-leg styles to side-tie and tanga cuts, while high-street brands including H&M, Calzedonia and Zara all stock thong bikini bottoms. Celebrity forerunners include gymnast Simone Biles, model Heidi Klum, actor Sofía Vergara and singer Nicole Scherzinger, with rapper Lizzo a longtime fan.
Victoria, 29, who wore a thong bikini for the first time on a recent solo trip to Naples, admitted to initial nerves. “I won’t lie, it was nerve-racking initially,” she said. Part of the appeal was avoiding tan lines, but she also found it empowering. “I saw thong bikinis everywhere and wished I could wear one. But then I thought about it and was like, it’s just a bum. Men wear those teeny-tiny trunks where you see everything, so why can’t I wear this? Plus, it was really comfy.”
Fashion experts see the trend as part of a wider cultural shift towards body positivity and self-expression. Shaun Cole, associate professor in fashion at the University of Southampton, said: “I think we’ve moved into another age of body consciousness – a much more expressive moment.” Aliya Wilkinson, founder of luxury swimwear label Ôsalé, noted that “women of all shapes and sizes are leaning into bolder cuts with real confidence”.
Sociologist Roberta Sassatelli of the University of Bologna linked the trend to a cultural emphasis on the buttocks. “In the west, fashion has long found ways to augment the butt, to make it look bigger and put emphasis on this part of the female body,” she said. The popularity of thong bikinis also coincides with a fitness culture focused on building glutes, with gym-goers keen to display the results.
