Before wild swimming was even a twinkle in the eye of the culture, and before ice plunging went viral on TikTok, there were mermaids. Mermaids are the original summer It girls. Who doesn’t want hair that looks great when it’s wet and salty, shell jewellery, killer sex appeal and a life of sun, sea and winding up sailors for kicks? These chicks know how to live.
Mermaidcore is this summer’s hottest style vibe. It is beach chic with a hot-sauce dash of brat energy. Every summer has its own off-duty avatar – tomato girl summer, anyone? – and 2026 is all about mermaids. For legal reasons, please note this column is not endorsing the luring of innocents to certain death. The vibe is Daryl Hannah in Splash, not selkies and sirens.
In other words: you need to up your beach cover-up game. Bring on the crochet trousers. Dig out the iridescent sarong. Say yes to coral jewellery. Embrace shell-encrusted flip-flops. Mermaidcore is the romanticisation of summer, a cinematic vision of beach life with you as the main character. It is a new spin on my all-time favourite dress code, which is what Americans call “vacation formal”, and Brits call “going for dinner on holiday”.
What it does not mean is dressing like you are going to a kids’ pirates and mermaids party. Mermaidcore can be sophisticated. Designer Matthieu Blazy’s most recent Chanel show, held on the Atlantic shore of Biarritz, had sea anemone embroidery and seahorse jewellery, and closed with a slithering dress of seafoam sequins. Clothes for sipping rosé with a sea view, not for Ariel cosplay on a bouncy castle.
So what exactly does a grownup mermaid look like? It starts with the silhouette. A certain slinkiness is in order. The switch is from an airy kaftan or maxidress to a narrower dress or long skirt. Or from sporty beach shorts to palazzo pants, snug at the hip and falling wide to the floor.
Long and narrow is not the most practical silhouette, which is probably why you don’t see mermaids playing beach volleyball. This aesthetic is best suited for graceful lounging, but if you insist on exerting yourself (or have young children), fishing-net mesh or crochet work as shorter cover-ups. A shell necklace can bring much-needed glamour to a morning spent wrangling sun cream on to small bodies.
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The line between mermaidcore and fancy dress is restraint. Pile on every pearl and sparkle and you will look as if you’ve fallen into a Sea Life gift shop. The trick is to borrow from the palette and texture of the ocean, not to dress as an actual resident. The most elegant mermaid shades are those washed-out blues and green-tinted turquoises that look artfully faded by salt and sunshine – a slip dress in pale aqua, or a sheer shirt in lagoon blue or seafoam green. You want to channel the spirit of a woman who has spent the afternoon drifting through a secluded cove, not one who just escaped from a kids’ TV show.
Texture matters as much as colour. Crochet, mesh, raffia and anything with a subtle shimmer all evoke the seaside without screaming it. A gauzy skirt catching the breeze has the magical quality of looking different every time the light hits it.
And footwear? Once again, fashion is nudging us toward jelly shoes. These truly amphibious sandals can paddle through rock pools, survive a sea dash – and still take you to lunch. Very on-brand for anyone aspiring to spend their summer moving seamlessly between land and water. Because mermaidcore is all about embracing the dream of a carefree summer. And that’s a fantasy worth diving into.
Styling: Roz Donoghue. Model: Chizoba at Milk. Styling assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Hair by Sam McKnight and Lisa Eldridge Beauty. Swimsuit, £165, Bond-Eye. Trousers, £36, and bag, £42, both River Island. Crochet scarf, £35.99, Zara. Earrings, £320, YSSO. Necklace, £165, Rixo. Ring, £72, Ottoman Hands. Sunglasses, £180, Alemais x Le Specs. Sandals, £130, Ancient Greek Sandals
