What could possibly explain the upside-down bikini trend? Given the style’s popularity among Love Island’s female contestants, one might reasonably assume a hasty recoupling with their bikini tops after a session in the “beauty salon” (Casa Amor’s code for the bedroom, apparently).
It’s not just the Islanders, though – most of the Kardashians have posted selfies posing in bottoms-up bikinis, most recently Kendall this week, who teamed her skimpy yellow string number with a self-satisfied smile. In fact, Kourtney and Kylie were early adopters of the look when it emerged last summer.
And while you don’t actually need to spend money on a specific “upside-down bikini”, fashion brands have not missed the opportunity to encourage as much, among them Jacquemus, Asos and Abercrombie & Fitch. The fashion shopping app Lyst has seen searches for the style increase 203% within the last month and reports that, globally, demand is up 98% month-on-month.
If, however, you’re not a Kardashian, or an Islander, or Dua Lipa, or Hailey Bieber, or under the age of 25, the look can be a little perplexing. In a video entitled “Make It stop”, one midlife TikToker laments, “I know the world’s gone a bit bonkers and people are acting really stupid, but surely we haven’t gone that far away from brain function that we forget how to put on a bikini?”
“It gives the opportunity to show a bit of cheeky underboob,” says Antigoni Buxton, one of this year’s Islanders, who regularly “flipflopped” her bikini. “A bit of underboob with a bit of a tan line looks kind of hot.” Plus, she adds, “it lifts my boobs and makes them look a lot nicer.”
Is the gravity-defying underboob not quite a high-risk strategy, though? Buxton is reassuring (sort of), saying that all two-pieces carry danger. “There’s always a risk if you do a dive or bomb that it might come off, but the upside down bikini isn’t any higher risk.”
ITV’s fashion stylist for Love Island, Flora Murray, adds: “A lot of brands are making swimwear with extra long ties to allow the wearer to style it in their own way.” Buxton explains that these allow the wearer to feel more secure – helpful for making that big splash. But it also enables the possibility of “flossing”, when bikini bodies are trussed up around the midriff with long bikini ties.
There’s also another, less vain and more worthy reason for the upside down fashion hack: “It’s a cost-effective, less wasteful approach to creating new fashion from your existing wardrobe,” says Katy Lubin of Lyst. “It’s eye-catching too – wearing something in an unexpected way makes people look twice.” A win for the Islanders, then.
With Casa Amor complaining about running out of clothes, it’s a hack that Buxton thinks we’ll see more of. With the humble triangle two-piece, she says, “you get four bikinis in one”. You can wear it as intended, upside down, upside down with the ties crossed at the front, or with the back bow brought to the front.
“With the nature of fast fashion and saving [money], that’s just great,” she says.
