Curating a swimwear collection you love is no mean feat. Much like lingerie, finding the best bikini is notoriously difficult. With so many designs on offer and sizing changing across the board, it’s a mission to get it right.
So, we asked Georgiana Huddart, co-founder and creative director at swimwear brand Hunza G, to shed light on choosing the perfect one. “Try not to go for trends,” she recommends. Avoid buying something because you’re “hoping that you ‘might wear it when…’” because “that never happens. You have to feel truly comfortable in the piece at that moment in time”.
In terms of the best designs for your shape, Huddart recommends a “crop top or bralette shape is best” for those with bigger busts, and look for “thick straps and support all around the underneath of the bust”. While those with smaller boobs can lean towards more “classic shapes like a square neck”.
On trends for this season and her predictions, she says “high-waist pants, classic cuts, neutral tones” are in. With this expert opinion in mind, we went on the search for the best bikinis to wear in 2023 and beyond.
How we tested
Finding the best bikini for you will, of course, be subjective. But, for this review, we paid attention to fit, how each one fared through frequent wear in the sea, a pool and the garden. We also considered the quality of the fabric, the sizing available and how it looked when wet compared with when dry. Owing to the nature of bikinis, they’re not the most affordable item, but we tried to include a range of different designs across varying price ranges, from high-street favourites to designer picks.
A selection of the best bikini sets that we tested for this review
The best bikinis for 2023 are:
- Best bikini overall – Asos Design mix and match crinkle bikini: £30, Asos.com
- Best black bikini – Nénés Paris guanaco top and hirola pant: £95, Nenes-paris.com
- Best high-street bikini – River Island pink textured bikini top and bottoms: £44, Riverisland.com
- Best high-waisted bikini bottoms – Adora Swim tide top and reef bottoms bikini: £97, Adoraswim.com
- Best triangle bikini – Adanola triangle bikini top and bottom: £43.98, Adanola.com