The Dua Lipa Portofino bikini photographs circulating this week are, on one level, exactly what they appear to be: a sun-drenched selfie, a striped two-piece, the kind of languorous holiday image that has become its own recognisable genre on social media. On another level, they are a small piece of a larger story about a summer that has been, by any measure, eventful.
Lipa is in Portofino, Italy, on a girls’ trip ahead of attending her friend Ella Jenkins’ wedding, according to People. The timing matters: Lipa herself married Callum Turner earlier this summer, with a civil ceremony in London on 31 May followed by a star-studded celebration in Sicily in early June, as reported by Yahoo Entertainment. The Portofino interlude, then, sits between two weddings: one her own, one a friend’s. There is something quietly apt about that, a season of ceremonies, bookended by the Ligurian coastline.
The With Jean Bikini and What It Signals
For the sunbathing session, Lipa wore the “Juni” string bikini by With Jean, a label that has built a following around exactly this kind of piece: small in scale, considered in construction. The two-piece features a mismatched striped pattern with colour-blocked panels. The triangle top combines red-and-white stripes on one side with green-and-blue stripes on the other, tied with slender halter straps. The bottoms are low-rise with thin striped string ties sitting high on the hips.
The selfie itself is unstudied in the way that only studied things manage to be: Lipa lying back on a plush beach towel, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun, pouting lightly at the camera. She wore shiny gold bangles and a statement ring with a large oval stone, and kept her dark hair in a natural, tousled arrangement. Makeup was minimal, tending towards a soft lip gloss. A trendy manicure, nude nails with black heart details, completed the look. The overall effect is of glamour worn very lightly, which is its own kind of discipline.
The Dua Lipa Portofino bikini image belongs to a visual tradition the Italian Riviera has long supported: the idea that leisure, properly conducted, is a form of elegance. Portofino’s harbour has been a backdrop for this proposition for decades, and it continues to function as shorthand for a particular variety of aspirational ease.
From Chanel Haute Couture to a Striped String Two-Piece
The contrast with her wedding wardrobe is worth a moment’s pause. According to Hello! Magazine, Lipa wore a Chanel Haute Couture gown for her ceremony before changing into a Bottega Veneta look for the reception. The movement from Chanel and Bottega Veneta to a With Jean string bikini is not a descent in register so much as a shift in mode: from the maximally considered to the deliberately relaxed. Both require a certain intentionality; the second just hides it more successfully.
With Jean occupies an interesting position in contemporary swimwear: not a luxury house, but not fast fashion either. Its pieces circulate on exactly the kind of social media imagery that Lipa’s selfie now joins, aspirational in effect but accessible enough in reference that the gap between the image and the consumer feels manageable. The “Juni” bikini, in its cheerful colour-blocking, reads as summer in a fairly universal key.
What the Dua Lipa Portofino bikini photograph ultimately offers is a particular version of celebrity leisure: located, styled, and shared in a way that makes the holiday feel both personal and public. Ahead of one wedding and not long past her own, the image has more context around it than the typical beach selfie. Lipa is expected to attend Jenkins’ wedding imminently, which will bring this particular Italian chapter to a close.
