9 under-the-radar swimwear labels to shop this summer
Bored of going back to the same swimwear labels summer after summer? Well you're in luck, as these exciting lesser known brands are brimming with fabulous options for your summer holiday. Here are the ones you need to know about now...
Onia
Although lifestyle brand Onia also does excellent beach-ready shirt dresses and kimonos, swimwear is its bread and butter. The brand's core philosophy of ''developing clean silhouettes crafted from the finest materials'' means its collaboration with chic ready to wear label Theory, which launched in May of this year, was a match made in heaven. As was its collaboration with American blogger Danielle Bernstein, which saw polka dots and stripes applied to stylish and supportive swimsuits and two pieces.
Prices from £60 for bikini bottoms, Onia
Fella Swim
Founded by Rosie Iffla and Christine Tang, Fella Swim offers uniquely cut and coloured swimwear for ''adventurous and sophisticated'' women. Think sporty mustard bikinis, bright reversible triangle styles and flattering ribbed one pieces.
What's more, realising that one size definitely doesn't fit all, Fella Swim offers a custom alterations service via their website.
Prices from £65 for bikini bottoms, available from Net-a-porter
Love Stories
Love Stories was launched as a lingerie brand in 2013 by Marloes Hoedeman, with the intention of providing women with underwear that ''makes you feel beautiful without the discomfort. Sexy without the sex.'' And that she did. So when the the creative director decided to expand into swimwear, she applied the same mentality, resulting in a range of sweet, feminine swimsuits and bikinis.
Next week, on Tuesday 10th July, Love Stories is launching a five piece capsule collection created in collaboration with uber stylish British blogger Lucy Williams, calling on an earthy colour palette and simple silhouettes.
Prices for the Love Stories x Lucy Williams collection start at £30 for a neckerchief, Love Stories
Matteau
Luxurious resort brand Matteau prioritises simplicity above all else, so if you're feeling fed up with a swimwear market saturated by zips, frills and cut out details, this label, which bypasses trends, offering straightforward streamline shapes in flattering hues, is one for you.
Prices from £210 for a bikini and £270 for a swimsuit, available at Browns
50 flattering bikinis and one-pieces to buy now for your summer holiday
Haight
Haight approaches swimwear as sculptural sportswear. The Brazilian brand’s cuts are always interesting - and at times daring, so not for the faint-hearted.
From £148, available at Farfetch
Bower
Founded in 2015 by husband and wife duo Fiona and Rupert, Bower offers luxury swimwear with an ethical and sustainable slant. Many of its fabrics are made from recycled fishing nets and the brand also uses processes that create as little waste as possible, helping to save the environment one cossie at a time.
From £65 for bikini bottoms, Bower Swimwear
Araks
Araks began with lingerie, and due to popular demand expanded into swimwear in 2015. The ex-J.Crew designer focuses on brilliant fit, streamlined silhouettes and a bold colour palette. It's a fashion editor’s beach-side secret weapon.
From £90, MyTheresa.com
Arabella London
The capital is not the obvious hub for swimwear, but Arabella London is defying the norm. Impossibly chic, and available in four classic colours, the swimwear - which comes with a “signature convex curve”, created to avoid “tugging or tucking” of bikini bottoms (that’s wedgies to you and me) - will bring you one step closer to your inner Ursula Andress.
From £175, Arabella London
How to shop for swimwear
Réard
Named after Bikini Atoll the South Pacific test site for the atomic bomb, the two-piece arrived on the scene in 1946. Louis Réard, a French designer who wanted to create a liberating alternative to the swimsuit that reflected post-war freedom, first showcased an itsy-bitsy newspaper-print bikini at the Piscine Molitor in Paris.
The bikini took off and was a hit with men (quelle surprise), and Réard continued to sell swimwear in his Parisian boutique for the next 40 years. After lying dormant for over 30 years, Réard relaunched last year with its SS17 collection under the watchful eye of experience swimwear designer Céline Adler, offering reinterpretations of Réard-classics, and the signature two-piece, naturally.
Romy swimsuit, £155, Réard
