Retro swimwear revives cuts and trends of 1980s beach fashion

Swimwear labels are giving the ’80s a second chance, reinventing retro designs for generations too young to remember the daggy decade.

Seafolly has dived into its archives for inspiration for its latest collection, dubbed Flashback, launching a nine-piece range of tube-top bikinis and flattering scoop-back swimsuits in canary yellow, bright red and ultramarine.


Designer and creative director Genelle Walkom said social media was driving the trend for these vintage styles among young women for whom the high-cut designs made famous by Elle Macpherson were completely new.

“There’s a very strong trend at the moment for ’80s styling; there are a lot of girls now wearing high-cut leg line swimwear and that’s what Seafolly was originally known for,” she said.

“That’s why we’ve delved into the archives and pulled out those key shapes which are in demand at the moment.”

Ms Walkom was also the mastermind behind Seafolly’s original ’80s designs, which she says were influenced by the time’s global fitness craze.