If you’d told me a few summers ago that tankinis would be back on my swimwear mood board, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, here we are: after years of minimalist, quiet luxury black bikinis dominating beaches and Instagram feeds alike, fashion people are suddenly reaching for a decidedly more nostalgic swim trend—the tankini.

Before visions of the tankinis you remember from the mid-2000s start flashing through your mind, just know that this revival is a lot more fashion-forward than its early-aughts predecessor. The new wave of tankinis is much more playful, with textured fabrics, retro-prints, and bright color stories making the style feel surprisingly fresh. The 2026 version of a tankini is often styled with low-rise bikini bottoms, a far cry from it’s modest mid-2000s iteration that often emphasized as much coverage as possible.