A brief history of beachwear

From budgie smugglers to Victorian knitted onesies, male swimwear has always made waves

‘Adidas if you want to design a swimsuit for trans women, right on. They have different needs. But stop gaslighting women?’

Let’s park the gender politics for some light fashion relief.

The new Adidas advert featuring an individual wearing what would traditionally be a women’s swimsuit aside, the world of swimwear for men has seen some choppy waters over the past century. Perhaps the rise of a fully genderless range of swim outfits is no bad thing.

Curious though a swimsuit on someone who identifies as a man might look – Adidas have not disclosed how their models identify – is a pair of neon budgie smugglers around the all-inclusive pool actually any better? I know which one I’d rather get an eyeful of over the breakfast buffet.

In a way, it’s no surprise that a genderless swim cossie has come along, because societal shifts have always governed how men hit the beach. No Victorian gentleman worth his stovepipe hat would have ever graced the seafront in anything other than a knitted onesie swimsuit, modestly cutting off at the thighs lest those milky white hams get the ladies fainting, and buttoned up to the collar.

In the US, actual laws dictated that a men’s swimsuit couldn’t be more than four inches above the knee. The only difference with the Adidas version is the scooped neckline and crotch (I think we can still use that term today).

Trunks as we know them didn’t swing into existence until 1937 when Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller – better known as Tarzan – was hired to model BVD’S new range of teeny tiny trunks. Even then, smaller shorts for men didn’t become ubiquitous until the 1950s and shrank yet further in the 1970s.

Thankfully, men’s trunks have mellowed and there’s now a booming market of well-made, well-fitting swimshorts with real design nous behind them, courtesy of brands such as Orlebar Brown, Vilebrequin and Frescobol Carioca. A swimsuit for men is obviously unconventional, but not every man is happy to show his chest. Bar underwear, it’s the most intimate item a person can wear, so by dint of its body revealing nature, swimwear for both sexes has always shocked.

Perhaps in 100 years we won’t bat an eyelid at genderless dressing over piña coladas at the beach club?

And no matter how the models in the Adidas campaign identify, I think they look pretty damn good.