Cheeky Bikini Bottoms: Swim's Most Confident Cut
Something shifted this year. The bikini bottom stopped playing it safe. The cheeky cut — that in-between silhouette sitting somewhere between a classic brief and a Brazilian — has become swim's most confident answer to a generation that dresses for herself first. Cheeky bikini bottoms aren't about showing more; they're about showing intention. A little more leg, a little more attitude, a lot more of the print you actually chose the suit for.
At Mahéquline, we've been designing for this exact instinct. Our Copenhagen studio built its swim collection around the idea that what you wear closest to your skin should feel like part of your identity, not a compromise. An outfit under your outfit. Or in this case, the outfit itself — because a great cheeky bikini bottom doesn't need much else to do the talking.
Why the cheeky cut owns 2026
The shift toward cheeky bikini bottoms is really a shift in how women want to be photographed by their own eyes. The traditional full-coverage bottom flattens the silhouette. The string bottom often feels performative — designed to be looked at rather than lived in. The cheeky sits in the sweet spot: it lifts, it lengthens the leg, it hints at the shape underneath without asking you to hold anything in.
It's the reason we see it on beaches from Skagen to Formentera this season, and the reason it's quietly outselling every other silhouette in our swimwear collection. When you're wearing something that already works with your body, you stop adjusting. You start actually being in the moment.
The Girasole Kin: our love letter to the silhouette
If you're going to invest in one cheeky bottom this year, we designed the Girasole Kin Bikini Bottom to be it. Named after the sunflower — girasole, the flower that turns toward the light — the piece carries the same energy. A hand-drawn floral print in warm ochre and soft terracotta, finished with a delicate ruffle trim along the leg opening that catches the wind when you walk.
The cut itself is what we call an elevated cheeky: high enough on the hip to elongate the leg, low enough at the back to actually flatter the body rather than compress it. The ruffle isn't decoration for its own sake — it softens the line where fabric meets skin, which is where most bottoms give themselves away. We prototyped this shape more times than we'd like to admit. When we finally got it right, we knew.
Girasole is designed to mix and match. Wear it with its matching top for a full look, or pair it with something unexpected from your existing rotation — a plain black bandeau, a white cotton shirt tied at the waist, a linen sarong. That's the point of building a swim wardrobe piece by piece. Nothing has to match perfectly. Everything has to feel like you.
Building a swim wardrobe that lasts
Cheeky bikini bottoms have a reputation for being trend-driven, but the ones worth keeping aren't. They're the pieces you pull out of the drawer three summers from now and still reach for first. That's the standard we design to at Mahéquline — swim you return to, not swim you replace.
If you're building a rotation, we'd suggest thinking in threes. Girasole is your print. The Tavola Kin Bikini Bottom is your quiet counterpart — a checkered pattern in muted blue and cream that pairs with almost anything and reads more sophisticated than loud. And the Lyrae Tio Bikini Bottom in warm terracotta is your solid, the one that makes every top in your drawer suddenly work harder.
Three cheeky bikini bottoms, three moods, endless combinations. That's a swim wardrobe that grows with you rather than one you rebuild every May.
How to wear cheeky bikini bottoms with confidence
The trick to wearing a cheeky bottom isn't about body type — it's about attitude and fit. A well-cut cheeky flatters every shape, because it's designed to work with the natural line of the hip rather than against it. Size up if you're between sizes: the cut should hug, not dig in. And trust the shape. The women we design for aren't asking whether they can pull it off. They're deciding what to pair it with.
Off the beach, we love a cheeky bottom under a sheer linen dress at a golden-hour dinner, or with high-waisted trousers and a bandeau for that in-transit look between the sea and somewhere else. The line between swim and lingerie has always been thinner than the industry pretends — and if you're curious about that overlap, our lingerie collection takes the same design language somewhere quieter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between cheeky, Brazilian, and full-coverage bikini bottoms?
Cheeky bikini bottoms sit right between full-coverage and Brazilian — they show a little more of the natural curve of the body at the back without being a thong. Full coverage covers everything; Brazilian shows significantly more. Cheeky is the balance point, which is exactly why it flatters most figures.
Can I wear a cheeky bikini bottom if I'm not in my twenties?
Absolutely. The cheeky cut isn't age-specific — it's confidence-specific. Our customers wearing Girasole, Tavola, and Lyrae range from women in their twenties to women in their fifties and beyond. What matters is fit and how the piece makes you feel when you catch yourself in the mirror.
How do I care for my Mahéquline swimwear so it lasts?
Rinse in cold water after every wear — especially after the sea or a chlorinated pool. Hand wash gently with a mild detergent, never wring, and dry flat away from direct sunlight. Our swim is built to last with the right care, so treat it like the lingerie and swimwear investment piece it is.
Whichever cheeky bikini bottom finds its way into your rotation this year, we hope it's one you keep reaching for. Something that feels less like a purchase and more like a piece of how you see yourself now. That's what we're building in Copenhagen, one print and one ruffle at a time.