The latest whisper from the swimwear gods is that forget-me-not florals and basic blacks are being elbowed out of the way in favour of velour. Yes, you read that right – velour swimwear is enjoying a steady ascent up the ranks of fashion desire thanks to endorsements from a clutch of It brands.

Revered for its Slim Aarons-esque campaigns, London-based swimwear brand Oceanus Swim, which aims to craft ‘a heightened sense of reality’, has thrown its weight behind velvet swimwear since its inception. Its debut collection, which was brimming with 80s nostalgia, was inspired by two notable style mavens, Donatella Versace and Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna in Casino, and put velvet front and centre of its campaign marking its first step back into the inner sartorial sanctum. 

Fast forward to the so-called summer of love, or Hot Girl Summer as others are dubbing it, and velvet swimwear is starting on its journey to reign supreme, courtesy of London-based earth-first brand, Fruity Booty. The brand, which was founded in 2017, dipped its toe into the swimwear pool for the first time this summer and in among its debut line-up was, indeed, a bubblegum pink velour bikini with the brand’s trademark cherry embroidered on the bottoms. Fruity booty, indeed.

This is waterproof velour for swimming; all of your 00s dreams come true, in short. Here are a few of the pieces to invest in to get ahead of the trend now.  

Images: courtesy of brands.