The world of swimwear trends is an anomaly. Unlike fashion overall, the trends rarely change on a massive scale. Apart from the big switch from high-waisted bottoms to stringier styles in the last few years, most of the major bikini-trend shifts have been fairly small from year to year—small but certainly still mighty.
From last summer to this summer, we saw subtle upgrades in the bikini space, and they all made a big impact. Sports-bra styles became tankinis, dainty floral patterns transitioned into louder ’80s-style prints, and embellishments like sequins and pearls were added to 2021’s neutral string bikinis. And those are just the highlights. Ahead, see how seven bikini trends have changed since the last time we spent three months in them 24/7 (at least, that’s the goal) and shop them all.
