Where’s the Challenger Brand for Men's Swimwear?

Running has Satisfy & Bandit. Golf has Malbon & Manors. Mens swim is still waiting for its disruptor.

Swimwear is the one place men’s fashion has not moved. Everywhere else we have seen challenger brands step in and shift culture. Running and golf have been disrupted. Tennis is about to be. But boardshorts? Still the same safe cuts and recycled prints, straight out of the early 2000s Rip Curl or Billabong catalogues.

After a few days in London, watching people strut through SoHo and Shoreditch dressed to the 9s, I couldn’t help but ask: What happens when those same people hit the sand? Because anytime I pack for the beach, I feel like I’m back in 18-year-old Hayden’s wardrobe getting ready.

Now I respect the “fashion has no temperature” crowd (hello Binga if you’re reading). But what are you wearing when it’s 35 degrees and you’re preparing to have a day on the sand? No matter how good the outfit is, you look like a fool on the beach.

I thought maybe I’m not the right person to answer that as maybe I’m not in the know. But then I shut that down quicker than Usain Bolt runs 100m. I’m Australian, I live on Venice Beach, I’ve run my own streetwear brand and I spend far too much time looking at menswear brands all over the world. If I don’t know, who will?

Scroll Ssense (RIP?) right now and it’s the same thing page after page.

Swim trunks that all blur into one. Less fabric, higher price, it seems. It’s a carousel of sameness. The real difference is that they get a bit shorter or they go slightly longer. Is there not more we can do here? Acne’s swim shorts look like gym shorts. Aime Leon Dores look like they are made for Finance Bros. Then, countless brands just rip off the Patagonia Baggie shorts. Why isn’t anyone pushing and experimenting with different shapes? Gimme some pleats for example.

Even the fabrics feel lazy. A surprising amount of swim shorts aren’t even quick dry. Which, I’m sorry, but if it doesn’t dry quickly, it’s not swimwear. Yes, sustainability with these nylon type fabrics is a hurdle but it hasn’t stopped brands in other categories from figuring it out. So is this just a lack of originality? A lack of thought? Or do we really all want to wear the same slim shorts with a slightly different pattern?

For this trip I settled on a pair from Bather, a Canadian brand. Solid quality, good patterns. But if I’m honest, they’re the same as everyone else. Just another print in the mix. But decent price point and I liked the pattern I ended up with.

Meanwhile, look at running. Brands like Satisfy and Bandit have revitalised a tired category by building something fresh, rooted in all three: brand, product and culture. They nailed it.

So why hasn’t this happened in swim? If it has, and I’m somehow missing them, please let me know!

The first brand that gets it right will not just sell swimwear; they will own the culture of summer.

As always. Thanks for reading and for your time.

Hayden