Sydney Sweeney and Elsa Hosk Are Keeping This Controversial Bikini Trend Alive

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(Image credit: @hoskelsa)

Bikini season in NYC always lags slightly behind the one in L.A. for obvious reasons, giving me as an East Coaster a chance to see which new trends are going to be big before the first nice day. It also shows me which old trends are coming back for a second go. And while I've already noticed tons of fresh swimwear styles to invest in for summer, there's one bikini trend from last year that's making an even bigger splash than any of its newer alternatives: the upside-down bikini. 

If you thought you'd escaped summer 2021 without ever having to flip your string bikini upside down, you were sadly mistaken. You see, the flip-flopped swimsuit trend has already made its way into 2022—and it's not even May yet. In the last week alone, supermodel Elsa Hosk and Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney have both posted photos on their Instagrams featuring the controversial bikini hack. And after 2021's showing—which included Paloma Elsesser, Kendall Jenner, and Kourtney Kardashian, among others—it'd be naïve of us to assume that they'll be the only two to break them out this year. Presumably, they're but the first of many celebs to tie their bikinis tops upside down now that warm weather is approaching.

Ahead, see how Hosk and Sweeney are wearing the heavily debated swimwear trend in 2022. 

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(Image credit: @sydney_sweeney)

On Sydney Sweeney: Palm Swimwear Viper Bikini Top ($120) and Bottom ($95)

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(Image credit: @hoskelsa)

On Elsa Hosk: Sommer Swim Xena Profumo Halter Bikini Top ($89) and Naomi Profumo Tie-Side Bikini Bottoms ($79); Bottega Veneta Jodie Mini Knotted Shearling Tote ($2500); Orchard & Ito hat

More celebs who are daring to wear upside-down bikinis:

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(Image credit: @palomija)

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(Image credit: @dualipa)

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(Image credit: @kendalljenner)

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(Image credit: @kourtneykardash)

Shop upside-down bikini candidates:

Coming up: Sorry, But Summer 2022 Means the Demise of These 7 Swimwear Trends

Senior Fashion Editor

Eliza Huber is a New York City–based fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and celebrity style. She joined Who What Wear in 2021 after almost four years on the fashion editorial team at Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Iowa. She has since launched two monthly columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled the likes of Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, and Sabrina Carpenter for WWW's monthly cover features; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top trends from fashion month, season after season. Eliza now lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, running in Central Park, and scouring eBay for '90s Prada and '80s Yves Saint Laurent.