I’ve spent more hours than I care to admit scrolling through swimwear brand websites, and here’s the thing—the ones that actually understand size inclusivity have cracked a visual code that most companies still haven’t figured out.
The Color Psychology That Actually Makes Bodies Feel Seen Instead of Hidden
Turns out, the old rule about dark colors being “slimming” is exactly what size-inclusive brands are actively rejecting. I used to think vibrant patterns and bold colors were risky territory for plus-size swimwear marketing, but brands like Chromat and GabiFresh have essentially thrown that assumption in the trash. They’re using saturated jewel tones—emerald greens, cobalt blues, fuck-it-why-not fuchsias—because the psychology here isn’t about minimizing anything. It’s about presence. When you look at their product pages, roughly 60-70% of the visual real estate is dominated by color that demands attention, not apology. The models aren’t lit to create shadow and contour in that old-school “flattering” way; they’re lit like they’re selling confidence, which I guess they are. Some brands still hedge their bets with black and navy, and honestly, I get the safety of it, but the market data suggests that customers are gravitating toward brands that treat color as celebration rather than camoflauge.
Wait—maybe I should mention that this isn’t just aesthetic preference.
Typography Choices That Whisper Luxury Without Screaming Exclusion
The font decisions in this space are weirdly telling. Legacy swimwear brands—the ones still figuring out that size 18 exists—tend to use either ultra-thin serif fonts (gives off that unattainable luxury vibe) or chunky, almost patronizing sans-serifs that feel like they’re shouting empowerment slogans at you. Size-inclusive brands that actually know what they’re doing have landed on something in between: medium-weight geometric sans-serifs, sometimes with subtle rounded terminals. Brands like Summersalt and Andie use typefaces that read as modern and premium without the visual weight that screams “THIS IS FOR REAL WOMEN” in that cringey way. I’ve noticed they pair these with generous letter-spacing—not so much that it feels sparse, but enough that the text breathes. It’s a small thing, definately, but it creates this subliminal sense of space and ease that mirrors the body-positive messaging without being heavy-handed about it.
Model Photography Angles and the Death of the Apologetic Pose
Anyway, let’s talk about how these bodies are actually photographed.
Traditional swimwear photography for larger sizes used to rely on what I call “strategic obscuration”—models shot from above, twisted at angles that minimized certain areas, often partially submerged in water or positioned behind props. The new guard of size-inclusive brands has basically said no to all of that. Brands like Girlfriend Collective and Chromat shoot their models straight-on, often from slightly below eye level, which is a power angle historically reserved for fashion editorials featuring straight-size models. The poses are confrontational in the best way—hands on hips, direct eye contact, bodies occupying the full frame without apology. I used to think this was just good activism, but it’s also smart design strategy: when your visual language treats all bodies as equally worthy of aspirational photography, you’re not creating a separate “plus-size” aesthetic ghetto. You’re building a unified brand identity that happens to span size ranges, which from a design coherence standpoint is just cleaner and more scalable.
Website Layout Patterns That Integrate Rather Than Segregate Size Categories
Here’s where a lot of brands still screw it up, even when they offer extended sizes. The navigation architecture often gives the game away—when “Plus Size” is a separate top-level category from “Swimwear,” you’ve already created a visual hierarchy that others certain customers. Brands that actually get it have moved to filter-based systems where size is just one attribute among many (color, style, coverage level, support). I’ve seen brands like Summersalt and Left on Friday integrate their size ranges so seamlessly that you genuinely can’t tell which landing page image features which size model without checking the product tags. The grid layouts use identical image dimensions and styling across all sizes, which sounds obvious but is surprisingly rare. Some brands still use different cropping strategies or background treatments for extended sizes, probably without even realizing it, and it creates this subtle visual segregation that undermines the inclusivity messaging. The technical execution here matters—it’s not enough to say you’re inclusive if your design system is literally structured around separation, you know?
I guess what strikes me most is how much of this visual strategy is about treating design decisions as ideological statements. Every color choice, every typographic hierarchy, every photographic angle is either reinforcing old narratives about which bodies deserve aspirational treatment or actively dismantling them. And honestly, the brands that are winning this space aren’t the ones shouting loudest about body positivity—they’re the ones whose design systems have internalized it so deeply that the inclusivity just reads as normal, as default, as the way things obviously should have been all along.
