Highsnobiety Sports is our week-long exploration of the intersection between sport and style. Head here for the full series and check out exclusive drops via our online store.
When it comes to swimwear, there are few items more divisive than a Y-front-shaped pair of swimming trunks.
While things are a bit different in Europe, in areas such as the USA and UK the majority of people are still closed-minded to the idea of rocking a pair of skinny budgie smugglers. When celebrities such as David Beckham have worn them in the past it is plastered on the front of tabloid newspapers and they're even banned in some holiday resorts outside of the EU.
It might be a 70s-inspired revolt, but we get the feeling that the tide is changing on skinny briefs. The infinitely less flattering surfer-style shorts that have dominated our swimming selection for years is starting to face some serious competition.
As with all things summer-style oriented, the first person to look to is Simon Jacquemus. The French designer is the undisputed king of creating the feel of summer escapism through his collections and a Hawaii beachfront SS22 collection only further proved this. Naturally, beachwear was on the agenda and a picnic-print pair of Y-front swimming trunks made Jacquemus join the likes of Rick Owens and Carne Bollente in the list of designers currently bringing back the y-front.
It's a list which you can also find Highsnobiety on, as we've now teamed up with the company whose name is now synonymous with the style: Speedo.
Created with functionality in mind, the brand's tight-fitting trunks were launched in 1960 with the singular goal of making swimming easier. They quickly became the design of choice for Olympic athletes and casual swimmers alike for their practicality and inadvertent sexiness. As Tom Daley, whose tiny Speedo trunks caused something of a media circus during the 2012 Olympics, has said “they have to be small because everything has to stay in place.”
For our collaboration with the brand, we have honored Daley's ethos, creating a pair of black swimming trunks with green Highsnobiety Sports branding, but the back is where things really get fun. One of the graphics that is central to our Highsnobiety Sports collection, the back has a green "focus" print going across the wearers behind.
Of course, Speedo offers much more than the Y-fronts it is famed for, and so does our collection. In the form of womenswear, there is a matching black one-piece suit with the same "focus" print featured across the chest and we are also dropping a pair of longer-legged jammer suit shorts, another favorite of professional swimmers, and a silicone cap that both have the "determination" print from our recent sports-centered collection.
Check out the Highsnobiety x Speedos collaboration in the gallery above, available to shop at the Highsnobiety Shop and at our Los Angeles pop-up, located on Los Angeles’ Sunset and La Cienega Boulevards.
Scroll down to shop our Highsnobiety x Speedos collection
