When Love Island returned to TV this week for its 11th series, the headlines were dominated by the addition of the first ever celebrity contestant, the former Towie star Joey Essex. But the WhatsApp conversations have already turned to familiar territory: what the islanders are wearing.
With the programme taking place in Mallorca, the typically young, typically honed islanders spend their days in skimpy swimwear gossiping about other members of the show, flirting and arguing. In the evening, they do the same, but having adopted a “go hard or go home” approach to dressing up, with the women in dresses with midriff-revealing cut-outs, crop tops and boob tubes.
These clothes are, almost without fail, accompanied by vertiginous heels to gingerly walk from the pool to the signature Love Island location: the fire pit. Placed in couples from the start, 12 islanders fight it out – and switch allegiances – with one couple eventually crowned the winner. With six episodes a week over eight weeks, the sheer number of outfits on display is dizzying.
If these clothes were previously provided by fast fashion retailers such as I Saw It First, they have been provided by eBay since 2022. This was a massive shift from the show’s previously criticised endorsement of fast fashion brands. Secondhand – or pre-loved – clothes now dominate. With dressed-up labels such as House of CB and Meshki mixed in with 90s Versace, the glamour quotient remains high.