Mermaid ahoy!
Stars take the plunge with new fish-tail swimsuit craze
A THREE-foot-long elasticated tail doesn’t sound like the most practical – or flattering – of fashion accessories.
But that hasn’t stopped mermaid tails making waves as a rather unlikely trend.
The swimsuits are proving popular thanks to their shimmering, colourful designs and the fact they can help tone stomach muscles and improve fitness.
A string of celebrities have sported mermaid tails including Britney Spears, Myleene Klass, model Poppy Delevingne and most recently ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who this week shared a video on Instagram of herself wearing a pink number while doing laps of a pool.
And it seems they’re a hit outside celebrity circles, too. British company Planet Mermaid – which sells a range of mermaid accessories and designed Miss Halliwell’s tail – said sales have soared by 65 per cent in the last year.
‘Mermaid schools’ have also been springing up in the UK for children, to help them become stronger swimmers, while mermaid experiences are on offer for youngsters and adults alike .
The movement of ‘mermaiding’ – kicking with your legs together, also known as a dolphin kick – uses more core muscles than kicking your legs separately. It is also more powerful than regular kicking and freedivers, who don’t use breathing equipment, have long used monofins, which look like mermaid tails, to be able to swim deeper with each breath.
Planet Mermaid founder Magdalena Jovanovic came up with her business idea to raise money after her son was diagnosed with autism.
She said: ‘I found a gap in the market with mermaid tails and used my skillset as a costume designer to develop a collection that captures the mermaid movement.
‘It’s one of those things that until you’re in a tail, you just don’t get it. But celebrities love them because of the instant transformation from human form to one-legged which offers a vulnerable out-of-water state but a powerful, magical in-water one.
‘There is also an undeniable fun quality; a mermaid kick is twice as fast as a human one.’ With prices starting at £70, she has a new collection for adults set to be released this year.
In keeping with the growing trend, the 1984 Oscar-nominated film Splash – in which Tom Hanks played a man who falls in love with a mermaid, played by Daryl Hannah – is being remade, starring heart-throb actor Channing Tatum.