More modest costumes that can be worn both off and on the beach are the hot ticket

This is the summer of the swimsuit, with sales of one-pieces currently surpassing sales of bikinis across the board. On the high street, a spike in sales at Primark has been explained by a demand for swimsuits, among other seasonal things. At Net-a-Porter, sales of one-piece swimsuits have seen 27% year-on-year growth. According to new brand Les Girls Les Boys, the percentage for sales is roughly 60% swimsuits versus 40% bikinis.

Ever a reliable yardstick, social media is in step with the retail industry, with ‘saves’ of one-piece swimsuits up 132% on Pinterest year on year. That’s more than for bikinis, cut-outs, or the polarising swimkinis (micro swimsuits) as seen on Love Island.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Les Girls Les Boys swimsuit Photograph: Les Girls Les Boys

Swimwear is huge on Instagram and insiders say the rise of the classic one-piece could well be a backlash against ‘thirst trap’ posts – a term referring to social media posts aimed at gaining attention. In the US, swimwear sales were approximately $3.6bn when Instagram launched in 2010. They rose to $4.6bn last year.

But a swathe of new brands are focusing on one-pieces to sate a market reacting against overly sexy swimwear.

Georgiana Huddart, co-founder of Hunza G swimwear, says that the increase is likely to be linked to privacy. “The generation before us, no one ever thought they’d be photographed on holiday. Holidays were meant to be an escape from all that. Now it’s a fashion show and holiday wear has become an entirely different thing, so it’s had to adapt.”

Natascha Wittgenstein, owner and designer of the brand Tooshie, says it’s also about “multi-tasking” – meaning they can be worn in multiple scenarios.

Both designers cite a new way of styling swimsuits, known colloquially as amphibious dressing, with swimsuits being worn off the beach as tops. “There is definitely a late 70s /early 80s trend [which sees] the one-piece styled with trousers” says Wittgenstein. Huddart agrees: “We are seeing them as much off the beach as on.””