The '90s called – monogrammed swimwear is back

04/05/2024

From capri pants to baggy jeans, the revival of ’90s and Y2K style is the gift that keeps on giving. Fashion’s latest obsession? Swimwear that’s liberally adorned with logos.

Luxury houses including Chanel, Gucci, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton are all revisiting monogrammed swimming gear, with collectors of the original iterations driving prices high on pre-loved platforms.

the '90s called – monogrammed swimwear is back

L-R: Naomi Campbell in Chanel’s Spring/Summer 1993 runway show; Paris Hilton wearing a Louis Vuitton bikini in 2006 (Image credit: Getty Images)

All-over logo prints are highly encouraged – think Paris Hilton in 2003 (or indeed just a few days ago), wearing a barely-there, Louis Vuitton bikini in high-maintenance white with multicoloured monograms. More is more so make like the Y2K style icon and wear yours with a matching Speedy or Alma.

Paris wore her bikini at a mall on a shopping trip with her then lesser-known friend, Kim Kardashian, offering proof that these pieces oughtn’t be reserved for the pool(side) or beach (bar). Swap out a bra for a monogrammed bikini top (by Vuitton, Gucci or Dior), letting those all-important logos peek through a sheer blouse, or tuck Celine’s fully monogrammed swimsuit into low-slung jeans. Today, these pieces aren’t much cheaper than the brands’ ready-to-wear, so you’ll want to get as much wear out of them as possible.

Chanel Spring/Summer 2024 (Image credit: Chanel)

Speaking of price tags, those attached to the original logo swimwear (from the early ‘90s through to the mid-aughts) have appreciated exponentially; a pristine, pre-loved Diorissimo swimsuit or Chanel bikini is now a collector’s item. Logo mania isn’t always in fashion but it always comes back around, which makes a purchase of such a piece a fairly sound investment buy.

Don’t fancy slipping into pre-loved underthings? The houses that first advocated conspicuous logo-wearing have reissued monogrammed swimwear for 2024. Chanel’s Spring/Summer ‘24 show featured several of these one-pieces, including one in candy-pink with subtle, tonal CCs all over, as well as a sultry suit fronted by a giant monogram and spliced with cut-outs.

Gucci’s new Gucci Lido campaign (Image credit: Gucci)

Tonal monogramming can also be seen at Gucci, who recently released Gucci Lido – a resort collection inspired by Italy’s glamorous coast, featuring a tangerine-orange bikini (and full matching outfit, complete with tote and slides), woven with the label’s interlocking Gs in subtly shimmering thread.

You may also eschew an all-over monogram for a swimsuit with a single insignia (there are no rules in logo land, apart from mixing monograms from multiple brands). If it’s good enough for Naomi Campbell, who wore a turquoise string bikini decorated with just one pair of CCs on Chanel’s Spring/Summer 1993 runway, it’s good enough for the modern logo-maniac.

A single monogram calls for many more, in the form of logo-adorned accessories. For example, content creator Hannah Strafford-Taylor styled a discreetly monogrammed Chanel one-piece with a teeny-tiny quilted waist belt and oversized earrings spelling out ‘Chanel’.

If you’re looking for quiet luxury, you’ve come to the wrong place, but Toteme’s offering – a swimsuit decorated with a monogram so magnified it becomes abstractly anonymous – is a subtler option, obvious only to those in the know.

What’s in a name? Judging by what we’ve seen here, a lot of fun. Quiet luxury is dead; long live logo mania.