Hailey Bieber's Vintage Cavalli Cut-Out Is The Summer 2026 Swim Moment
In January she opened 2026 in a leopard Roberto Cavalli SS 2003 monokini. Five months later, cut-out swim is the trend everyone's editing into their carts.
When Hailey Bieber kicked off 2026 in a vintage leopard-print monokini, the captions mostly misread it as a generic resort post. The piece was Roberto Cavalli Spring/Summer 2003, sourced through vintage dealer Opulent Addict and listed at roughly $2,850 on 1stDibs — facts that Marie Claire ran the same day Hailey posted, and that Bustle tied to one of 2026’s top swim prints by week’s end. The cut-out bikini conversation that followed has been compounding ever since: by spring, every serious Summer 2026 swim trend report had named the silhouette, with architectural cut-outs framed as the design story of the season.
Five months later, that trend isn’t an editorial talking point anymore — it’s what’s actually being added to carts. This is the edit: statement one-pieces working the silhouette like a signature, sculpted monokinis at the harder end, and a full round of cut-out bikini sets in between.
Key Takeaways
Hailey Bieber set the trigger
Her New Year's Day post in vintage Roberto Cavalli SS 2003 sent the cut-out monokini back into editorial rotation, with Marie Claire, Bustle, and theFashionSpot running the brand attribution within 48 hours.
Three silhouettes are doing the work
The current cut-out story splits cleanly across statement one-pieces (Norma Kamali, Reina Olga), ring-and-hardware bikinis (Victoria's Secret, Alessi), and sculpted monokinis (Minimale Animale, Sbovia).
Price tiers go almost everywhere
Accessible at $73 (Victoria's Secret reversible set), luxury at $650 (Agent Provocateur Davine), with most of the edit landing between $85 and $280.
Hardware is the tell
Whether it's clear O-rings, gold logo rings, or stacked-ring stacks, the cut-out's modern incarnation almost always anchors the negative space with hardware at the focal point.
The Statement Cut-Out One-Pieces
The most defensible cut-out is the kind built into the architecture of a one-piece. These four read as design choices rather than detail flourishes — pieces where the negative space is the point, not the punctuation.
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Reina Olga
Augusta Swimsuit - Liliac & Hot Pink
One-piece
1 / 5Reina Olga’s Augusta does the cut-out as architecture — twin side openings clamped by a clear O-ring at the waist, with an open back and Brazilian-cut brief picking up where the cutouts leave off. Shown in the brand’s signature hot-pink-and-lilac colorblock, the crinkle fabric is structured enough to hold its lines through a full pool day. The clear hardware is the smartest detail: it disappears at distance and reads as graphic up close.
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Cin Cin
Orbit Lobster Lobster Swimsuit - Mocha
One-piece
1 / 3Cin Cin’s Orbit is the answer for anyone tired of black as the default cut-out canvas. The Mocha colorway lands as a medium-deep, warm-undertone brown — a new neutral that flatters more skin tones than another iteration of jet black. The cut-outs themselves frame the torso rather than baring it, which makes this a sneakier statement than the price tag suggests.
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JMP the Label
Santorini One Piece - Red
One-piece
1 / 7A multiway wraparound is JMP The Label’s contribution to the conversation — the Santorini’s straps tie three different ways across the back, the open back finished with the same ribbon construction. The high-leg cut and cheeky brief read like Mediterranean shorthand for “anchored in 2026”. In cherry red, on an 85% recycled-nylon shell made in Bali, this is the most versatile piece in the section.
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Norma Kamali
Triple e Mio - Black
One-piece
1 / 4Norma Kamali has been refining the cut-out one-piece since the 70s, and the Triple E Mio is the most distilled version of what she does — strapless top edge, side cutouts, moderate seat coverage, in a 4-way-stretch 72-percent polyester blend that holds its line through any kind of day. It doubles as a bodysuit under separates; that’s not a marketing line, it’s how Norma Kamali designs.
The Cut-Out Bikinis Worth Knowing For Summer 2026
A cut-out bikini is harder to make work than a cut-out one-piece — there’s less canvas, and the cut-out has to interact with strap and triangle without looking decorative. These four solve it across price tiers, each with hardware as the anchor.
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Victoria’s Secret
Reversible Cut-out Rings BraletteTop & Brazilian Bikini Bottom
Bikini · sold separately
1 / 4Victoria’s Secret takes the cut-out bikini set to scale at $73 — golden stacked rings at the center-front cutout on a wireless bralette, paired with a double-strap Brazilian bottom that echoes the hardware. The whole thing is reversible, which doubles the styling life of a $40-something top. The shimmery swim fabric photographs better than the price suggests it has any right to.
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Agent Provocateur
Bikini Top & Bikini Brief
Bikini · sold separately
1 / 5The Davine is Agent Provocateur’s most architectural swim style, and the green-and-gold colorway is the one to know — harness straps in a metallic finish, rock-hardware fastenings at every connection point. At $650 for the set, this is the corsetry house treating swim like lingerie, which is exactly the wardrobe overlap the cut-out conversation has been moving toward.
The Italian heritage carries forward into the next pick — see our edit of Italian swim brands for the broader context.
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Alessi Swim
Kylie Top& Bottom - Navy
Bikini · sold separately
1 / 4Alessi Swim’s gold-ring detail does in navy what most ring-hardware bikinis do in black — but better. A single Alessi-engraved ring joins the triangle cups at center-bust; the same hardware anchors one side of the low-rise bottom. The deep navy reads more grown than another iteration of black string, and the Italian-fabric construction holds up where ring hardware usually goes flimsy.
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God Save Queens
Heartless Top & Bottom - Black
Bikini · sold separately
1 / 5The Heartless isn’t a literal cut-out — it’s God Save Queens’ signature trompe-l’œil, with a sheer mesh insert framed by harness straps and matte-black hardware reading as negative space from a frame away. The technique runs through much of the brand’s swim line: the coverage stays put, the silhouette reads cut-out. At $238 for the pair, it borrows the visual energy of the Cavalli/Hailey moment without the actual exposure — or the vintage hunt.
The Sculpted Monokinis
At the harder end of the spectrum is the sculpted monokini — bandage, halter, asymmetric one-shoulder. These four are the engineered side of the cut-out conversation, where the negative space has structural intent.
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Room 24
Alexa One Piece
One-piece
1 / 5Room 24’s Alexa runs halter-neck construction through cut-out shaping panels — it’s a one-piece that does the sculpting work most readers ask shapewear to do, but in a swim register. The cut-outs are placed to frame rather than reveal, which is the difference between a swimsuit you wear and a swimsuit you keep wearing once the pool day ends.
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Minimale Animale
Dynamo One Piece - Skinny Dip Brown
One-piece
1 / 3Minimale Animale’s Dynamo is the boldest piece in the edit — an ultra-high-waisted bandage build with an underboob cutout and a narrow brief. In Skinny Dip Brown, the bandage paneling reads almost like contour shading. This is the only suit in the article that doesn’t pretend to be subtle, and that’s the point.
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Melissa Simone
Zara One Piece - Titanium
One-piece
1 / 2Melissa Simone’s LA atelier brings a 90s-resort sensibility to the cut-out conversation with the Zara — one-shoulder asymmetric construction, signature zigzag panel running through the front, metallic Titanium that catches every angle of light. The cheeky brief keeps the silhouette modern without overworking it; this is what you wear from pool to bar without changing.
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Sbovia
The Luxe Monokini - Black
One-piece
1 / 4Sbovia lands the accessible end of the sculpted monokini at $118 — asymmetric one-shoulder top, high-cut V-shape brief, a C-shaped back cutout that handles the negative-space conversation for you. Photographed matte against a clean studio backdrop, the geometry reads graphically without trying. The C-shape is the single smartest detail in the section.
How To Wear A Cut-Out Without Overthinking It
A cut-out suit does most of the styling work for you — the silhouette is the statement. The job is to not add a second one. Four rules that work across every piece in the edit.
Keep the jewellery to one piece. A cut-out monokini paired with a stack of layered necklaces ends up reading like a coordinated outfit. Pick one chunky bangle, one statement earring, or one chain — never the trio.
Knit cover-ups soften graphic shapes. A crochet wrap or a loose-knit kaftan does for a Reina Olga or a Minimale Animale what a smoother cotton tunic can’t — the texture contrast keeps the eye on the suit’s lines without flattening them.
Tan lines are a design question, not a problem. A bandage piece will give you a bandage tan pattern. Either embrace it (cut-outs read sharpest on tanned skin) or rotate your sun exposure between two suits. Don’t try to layer SPF strategically around the openings — life is short.
Match the occasion, not the price tag. The Victoria’s Secret reversible set is the right call for a resort pool day; the Agent Provocateur Davine is for a Mediterranean dinner where the cover-up comes off. Wearing the wrong-tier piece at the wrong occasion is the only style mistake the cut-out trend actually makes possible.
Our Final Take
The cut-out swimsuit isn’t a trend Hailey Bieber invented — Roberto Cavalli was running this silhouette in 2003, Norma Kamali was running it in the 70s. What Hailey did, in a single New Year’s Day post, was remind every fashion editor still trying to nail down a 2026 swim story exactly where to start. Norma Kamali’s Triple E Mio is the heritage anchor; Reina Olga’s Augusta is the most photogenic of the lot; and if your budget runs tight, Victoria’s Secret’s $73 reversible set is the cleanest accessible-tier cut-out bikini on the market right now. The silhouette has the year — choose the one that has you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cut-out bikini, exactly?
A cut-out bikini is any two-piece (or monokini) with intentional negative-space openings carved into the design — most commonly at the center-bust, sides of the waist, or back. The cut-outs are the design feature, not just a strap revealing skin; the hardware or strap geometry usually anchors them.
Are cut-out bikinis still in style for 2026?
Yes — more so than 2025. Marie Claire, Bustle, and theFashionSpot all ran the silhouette as a top Summer 2026 trend in January after Hailey Bieber's vintage Cavalli moment, and drops from Victoria's Secret, Frankies Bikinis, and Hunza G's Burberry capsule have kept the conversation going through spring.
What body types look good in cut-out bikinis?
Every body type. The question isn't whose body the cut-out flatters — it's where the cut-out lands on yours. Side cutouts at the natural waist read elongating; underboob cutouts read structural; center-bust hardware reads architectural. The design decision is yours, not your body's.
Where can I shop a vintage Roberto Cavalli swimsuit like Hailey Bieber's?
Hailey sourced hers through vintage dealer Opulent Addict, with similar Cavalli SS 2003 pieces listed on 1stDibs around the $2,850 mark. Vestiaire Collective and TheRealReal both carry rotating Cavalli archive stock; for the leopard print specifically, the SS 2003 collection is the one to search.
Are cut-outs supportive enough for an active beach day?
It depends on construction. Engineered-support pieces — Minimale Animale's bandage Dynamo, Room 24's halter Alexa, Norma Kamali's 4-way-stretch Triple E — hold up to actual swimming. The decorative-cutout bikini sets (Victoria's Secret, Alessi) read better for poolside than wave-jumping.
