Do you know your barrel from your supertube? Now is the time to brush up on your wave terminology – surf is on-trend for SS19.

Of course, this being fashion, it’s more a mood thing than a moment to lose an afternoon to YouTube videos of surfers taking on the sea and winning. Raf Simons found inspiration in the Steven Spielberg classic Jaws for his final show for Calvin Klein; models walked in full wetsuits, some with the bibs turned down to reveal painterly prints. Other designers were also riding waves. Marine Serre featured scuba suits, while Richard Malone had rash guards; Michael Kors, Anna Sui and R13 took the trend back to its ancient Hawaiian roots with that most popular of tropical prints on board shorts, bikinis and bucket hats. Etro’s models, meanwhile, carried actual surfboards.

While the appeal of surf has enjoyed fashion moments in the past – movie night inspiration can be found in Point Break, Blue Crush and The Endless Summer – this latest incarnation fits into a bigger shift. Sport in general has been mined recently, with athleisure and sporty tracksuits now commonplace. Watersports are a logical progression, meaning wetsuits could make their way to dry land this spring.

London brand House of Holland certainly waved the blue flag for surf with long-sleeved bodysuits – a collaboration with Speedo – and rash guard tops designed to evoke a second skin. “The narrative behind the collection was the increasing intensity of everyday life. Women’s outfits need to cater to more than one thing at a time and what they wear has to have duality,” says designer Henry Holland, who styled surfer-girl pieces with tailoring and party dresses.

If the full look isn’t your thing, test the waters with beach bags, bucket hats and shield sunglasses. “It’s about a new wave of city dressing – people aren’t willing to be uncomfortable any more,” says Holland, pointing out that, “these days, the notion of the beach being your office is not a weird concept.”