Men's swimwear has come full circle: what was once the norm in the 1970s has returned to reign in 2025, as men's swim trunks have shrunk again.

A Century of Swimming and Style ”, currently on at The Design Museum. “The Australian designer and artist Peter Travis was central to the development of the Speedo brief,” she says.

Next to athletes, swim briefs are probably most commonly associated with gay men. The image of Mr. Goggins, a virile straight man, in a Speedo also gave briefs relevance outside gay culture.

His swimming briefs were, well, brief – available in 17.5cm (6.9 inches), 12.5cm (4.9 inches) and 7.5cm (3 inch) widths — the greater the width, the more ‘modest’ the garment said ...

Matt Model, the Team Australia member who gave Harry the swimming briefs in 2018 and 2022, says this year’s gift was a little on the larger side, to reflect Harry has had a couple of kids: “It ...