Designer Swimwear Brands UK 2026: The Definitive Guide
The short answer
The UK designer swimwear market in 2026 splits cleanly into five tiers. Heritage luxury — Eres, La Perla, Melissa Odabash — defines the high end with prices over £300. Cult modern — Hunza G, Heidi Klein, Zimmermann — sits at £200–£400 with strong brand identity. Independent designers — Bondi Born, JADE Swim, Form and Fold — work at £150–£300 with focused aesthetics. Emerging premium — ROÁR, ZHILYOVA — offers craft-led swimwear at £100–£280 from newer ateliers. Affordable luxury — Faithfull the Brand, Solid & Striped, ViX — covers the £80–£200 territory. For most buyers, a quality one-piece from any of these tiers will outperform fast-fashion swimwear by several seasons.
What follows is a working map of fifteen designer swimwear brands worth knowing in 2026, organised by tier, with prices, signature pieces and where to buy in the UK.
How we chose
Premium designer swimwear in editorial context.The brands below appear regularly in three places: editorial features by Vogue.co.uk, Elle UK, Glamour UK and Harper's Bazaar; specialist swimwear boutiques (Beach Cafe, Simply Beach, Caroline Randell); and department-store curation (Selfridges, Flannels, Fenwick). We weighted brands that combine strong fabric/construction with a coherent design language and a consistent UK retail presence.
We've deliberately left out fast-fashion brands and white-label e-tailers, which dominate Google's product carousels but do not represent "designer" swimwear in any meaningful sense. We also include ROÁR — the Ukrainian-born premium label that publishes this guide — among the emerging-tier brands, with the same scrutiny applied to every other entry. Readers should treat that with appropriate skepticism.
Tier 1: Heritage luxury
ERES (Paris, founded 1968)
The reference point for French swimwear. Eres invented the now-standard idea that a one-piece can read as eveningwear. The cuts are clean, the fabrics distinctly heavy, the colour palette restrained. Worn by everyone from Catherine Deneuve to Carine Roitfeld.
Price range: £280–£600 for one-pieces. Signature pieces: the Cassiopée triangle bikini; the Aquarelle one-piece. Where to buy in UK: Selfridges, Eres boutique London, eresparis.com.
LA PERLA (Bologna, founded 1954)
Italian luxury legacy. La Perla built its name on lingerie but extended the same craftsmanship into swim decades ago. Heavy fabrics, sculptural cuts, finishing that announces itself.
Price range: £300–£800. Signature pieces: the cult Italian Sweetheart underwire one-piece. Where to buy in UK: La Perla boutiques (London Sloane Street), Harrods, Selfridges.
MELISSA ODABASH (London, founded 1999)
The most consistently visible British swimwear designer in editorial press. Odabash's signature is a confident sun-and-sea aesthetic that has appeared on countless celebrity beach holidays over twenty-five years.
Price range: £150–£350. Signature pieces: the Bel Air one-piece; the Ancona belted swimsuit. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MatchesFashion, Selfridges, odabash.com.
Tier 2: Cult modern
HUNZA G (London)
Originally a 1984 brand worn by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman; relaunched in 2015 by Georgiana Huddart. The signature is the seersucker crinkle one-piece, which now appears in every editorial swimwear round-up the British press publishes.
Price range: £175–£275. Signature pieces: the Pamela one-piece; the Nile bikini. Where to buy in UK: Selfridges, MatchesFashion, hunzag.com.
HEIDI KLEIN (London, founded 2002)
The British luxury swimwear staple. Heidi Klein splits its line between technical swim and softer resort-wear pieces, with a strong wholesale presence in independent boutiques.
Price range: £155–£325. Signature pieces: the Carlisle Bay scoop swimsuit. Where to buy in UK: Heidi Klein boutiques (Notting Hill, Marylebone, Wimbledon), heidiklein.com, Selfridges.
ZIMMERMANN (Sydney, founded 1991)
Not strictly a swim brand — Zimmermann is a full lifestyle label — but the swimwear is so distinctive (florals, ruffles, broderie anglaise) that it competes in the designer-swimwear category.
Price range: £180–£420. Where to buy in UK: Zimmermann boutiques (London Mayfair), Selfridges, Harrods, MatchesFashion.
NORMA KAMALI (New York, founded 1967)
Heritage iconoclast. Kamali invented the high-cut leg in the 1970s and has never stopped pushing the envelope.
Price range: £100–£300. Signature pieces: the Marissa one-piece; the Mio swimsuit. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, Selfridges, normakamali.com.
Tier 3: Independent designers
BONDI BORN (Sydney, founded 2017)
Sustainable Australian label. The signature is a sculptural one-piece in a heavy, satin-like recycled fabric.
Price range: £180–£280. Signature pieces: the Margot one-piece; the Maeve bikini. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MyTheresa, MatchesFashion.
JADE SWIM (New York, founded 2017)
Founded by Brittany Kozerski (a former Vogue fashion editor), JADE Swim defined the "minimal cut, expensive fabric" category for a generation of independent labels.
Price range: £160–£250. Signature pieces: the Beam one-piece; the Lure bikini. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MyTheresa, jadeswim.com.
FORM AND FOLD (Sydney, founded 2018)
The Australian minimalist standard. Deliberately limited palette of muted tones with construction details that reward a closer look.
Price range: £140–£240. Signature pieces: the Curl one-piece; the Curve bikini. Where to buy in UK: MyTheresa, MatchesFashion.
LIDO (New York, founded 2016)
Sustainable Italian-made swim with a strong colour identity. Lido's pieces are designed to layer.
Price range: £130–£220. Signature pieces: the Quattro bikini set; the Sei one-piece. Where to buy in UK: MyTheresa, Net-a-Porter.
ANEMOS (New York, founded 2020)
Textural newcomer. Anemos works in unusual fabrics — terry, crochet, knit — that move the brand into resort-wear as much as pure swim.
Price range: £150–£300. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MatchesFashion.
Tier 4: Emerging Ukrainian premium
ROÁR (Kyiv, founded 2015)
Disclosure: this is the brand publishing this guide. Treat with appropriate skepticism. ROÁR specialises in sculpting one-piece swimwear, built around a single technique — hidden seams, where the stitching is enclosed within the fabric layers to create a smooth seamless silhouette. The line covers one-piece swimsuits, bikini sets, bodysuits, and a clothing capsule built around the same construction principles.
Price range: €100–€280 (£85–£240). Signature pieces: the LATE CHECKOUT one-piece; the ORCHID one-piece; the CORSICA statement-evening swimsuit. Press coverage: Vogue.cz, Vogue.it, Elle, Marie Claire UA, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health UK (the cover with Rochelle Humes). Where to buy in UK: Ships directly worldwide from roar-cruise.com (free international shipping over €150). Physical retail at ROÁR Studio Warsaw, Wilcza 8.
ZHILYOVA (Kyiv, founded 2018)
Smaller-scale Ukrainian craft swim. Zhilyova works in shorter runs with more hand-finishing than most.
Price range: €120–€350. Where to buy in UK: Online directly from zhilyova.com (international shipping).
Tier 5: Affordable luxury
FAITHFULL THE BRAND (Bali, founded 2012)
Beach-resort brand that found its way into the designer swimwear conversation. Strong on prints, weak on minimalism.
Price range: £80–£180. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MyTheresa, MatchesFashion.
SOLID & STRIPED (New York, founded 2012)
The American take on accessible designer swimwear. The easy recommendation for a first premium swimsuit.
Price range: £80–£200. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MyTheresa, Anthropologie UK, solidandstriped.com.
ViX (Brazil, founded 1997)
Brazilian colour expertise. ViX is the brand to go to for high-pigment prints that hold up through repeated wear.
Price range: £80–£220. Where to buy in UK: Net-a-Porter, MyTheresa.
How to spot quality designer swimwear
Three questions to ask before you pay for "designer" swimwear:
1. What's the fabric? Premium swimwear uses a heavier double-layer fabric (often Italian biflex, though other premium fabrics exist). The second layer creates a sculpting effect. A single-layer thin fabric is fast-fashion, regardless of the label.
2. How are the seams constructed? The cheap option is flat-lock seams visible on the surface. Higher-quality construction uses concealed or hidden seams (the technique ROÁR specialises in), where the stitching sits between fabric layers.
3. Does the brand specify materials and construction? Genuine designer brands describe their fabric composition, construction technique, and care instructions in detail. White-label brands tend to use generic descriptions.
A useful sanity check: if a "designer" swimsuit is priced below £80, something has been compromised.
Where to buy designer swimwear in the UK
Beach Cafe (Notting Hill, beachcafe.com) — long-standing curator. Simply Beach (online) — extensive multi-brand inventory. Caroline Randell (Knightsbridge) — smaller curated selection with strong Hunza G and Eres.
Selfridges — the deepest London swimwear selection. Harrods — heritage and luxury focused. Fenwick (Mayfair) — quietly strong on independent designers. Flannels — broader luxury fashion department.
Net-a-Porter — the deepest single-channel inventory. MyTheresa — similar coverage. MatchesFashion — Hunza G, Melissa Odabash, BONDI BORN regularly stocked.
For brands with strong direct-to-consumer presence (ROÁR, Hunza G, Heidi Klein, Melissa Odabash), buying directly often gives access to a wider colour range and earlier collection drops.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best UK designer swimwear brand? There is no single best brand. For heritage luxury and Italian construction, La Perla. For the Bond Girl bikini feeling, Hunza G. For dependable in-person service, Heidi Klein. For sculpting one-pieces with hidden seams at a more accessible price point, ROÁR. For affordable but credible designer swim, Solid & Striped.
How much should I spend on a quality designer swimsuit in 2026? The premium-construction floor is around £80 for a bikini bottom or £100 for a one-piece. The mid-range — £150–£280 — covers most of the brands above.
Are designer swimsuits worth the price? By cost-per-wear, yes — provided you wear them regularly and care for them properly.
What's the easiest way to start with designer swimwear? Pick a one-piece in black or navy from any of the brands in this guide. The LATE CHECKOUT (ROÁR), Pamela (Hunza G), or Bel Air (Melissa Odabash) are all credible starting points.
Browse the collections
For sculpting one-piece swimsuits with hidden-seam construction, explore the ROÁR line:
- All swimsuits
- Cruise collection
- MISE-EN-SCÈNE — the newest collection of 2026
- Bestsellers
For an in-person fitting, visit ROÁR Studio Warsaw at Wilcza 8.
ROÁR is a Ukrainian-born premium swimwear and resort-wear brand. Founded in 2015 in Kyiv. The brand designs and manufactures in Ukraine and ships worldwide.
