Focus on one of the must-have items of summer holiday clothing: the swimming costume. A fashion item that has evolved considerably since the first swimwear appeared in the 1850s. Retviews, Lectra‘s artificial intelligence solution specialising in competitive intelligence and automated benchmarking, highlights in its recent study*, published on June 13, the trends in the swimwear market and the major dynamics of swimwear in Europe in 2024.

In 2024, the global swimwear and sportswear market generated sales of 97.32 billion dollars, with annual growth forecasts of 4.31% until 2028 (according to the German statistics organisation Statista), underlining the importance for a brand to have a clear swimwear strategy for each summer season and to stand out from the competition. 

Between the popularity of the thong and the colour black

In its trend study comparing the swimwear offer on the European market for the spring-summer 2024 season, Retviews highlights that the bikini remains the must-have model for this summer, even if the one-piece swimming costume is gaining more and more space in the collections of fashion brands (it represents 20% of the offer this year, compared with just 13% in 2023). 

A little background: the bikini, in its modern form, first appeared in July 1946. Provocative in its minimalist design, this two-piece swimming costume was named after the Bikini Atoll, where American atomic weapons were tested.

What is the most popular bikini model today? In 2024, the market share occupied by the thong has increased by 75% compared to 2023 (from 12% to 21%), to the detriment of the Brazilian swimming costume, which is in decline this summer (losing 15 points, plummeting to 38%).

“Between 2023 and 2024, we see a 5% increase in the average price of the swimwear category, rising from €38 to €40,” explains the research team at Lectra. In addition, the analysis highlights a 53% increase in “sheathing” or “compressive” swimwear compared with last year.

Time for colour. The most popular colours used by brands include bright blue, intense green and vivid pink, as well as the timeless colour black. Lingerie brand Etam is riding the PE24 trend, while fitness brand Oysho is opting for more classic, neutral colours. 

As far as men are concerned, the study data show that labels are focusing more on pale khaki and blue, softer shades than for women and than in previous summers.

*The Retviews study, published on 13 June 2024, analyses the latest collections by fashion brands on the European market during the spring-summer 2024 season, comparing them with the same period last year. The countries included in the study are France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the UK and Germany, and the brands analysed are Etam, Calzedonia, Victoria’s Secret, Oysho, Primark, H&M, ZARA, Mango and Tezenis.