Animal Crossing New Horizons: Fashion designs of the week

On this page we're looking at beachwear. An actual trip to sun and sand may be out of the question for many of us at the moment, but with summer here and Animal Crossing: New Horizons having just launched a major update allowing you to dive into your island's seas, it's a perfect way to live out a vicarious vacation!

01. Beach Dress

Let's start off nice and literal with this beach dress patterned after the actual beach. The gentle waves, warm sands, and pleasant skies that creator Starline has drawn onto the dress are tied together with a complementary colour scheme that makes the whole piece feel breezy, rather than busy. This is the sort of beachwear you could chill out under a parasol in and just watch the sea go out in.

02. Night Sky Swimsuit

This simple bikini top and skirt look from creator Sky brings a nice bit of nocturnal allure to the game, with a dark blue contrasting against a light yellow to create the stellar effect. As with much of the beachwear fans have made, Sky has modified a 'sleeveless dress' template and provided what RuPaul's Drag Race would call a 'nude illusion', so players may want to recreate this to match their preferred in-game skin tone.

03. Blue Floral Swimsuit

Following similar design principles to the Night Sky Swimsuit, creator Emily delivers another combo piece, but by adding belt detail, floral designs and a halterneck strapline, this feels sleeker and cooler. Hints of green in the colour palette make this a great beachfront look.

04. Miko Swimsuit

Taking inspiration from Japanese shrine maiden attire, but giving it a sexier twist, Alex blends a short frilled skirt with a clean white bikini top for a light, fun look. The added touches, such as the frilled arm rings matching the skirt, and the hint of the sports bra underneath, give this a sporty touch, too – perfect for playing volleyball then going for a dip in the sea!

05. Pride Swimsuit

Summer means Pride season, and anyone wanting to show off their LGBTQ+ credentials could do with downloading Ailys' fetching Pride Swimsuit design. Rather than a simple rainbow pattern, this swimwear cleverly continues the diagonal rainbow design from one shoulder strap to meet up with the bottoms, and offers complementing but asymmetrical Pride hearts on both parts of the outfit. And it's all held together by the perfect dark purple hue to balance the rainbows.

06. Male Water Tribe

Most of the beachwear designs fans are making focuses on female designs. This elegant look is one of the few offering a more masculine look. Don't let the 'male' tag hold you back though – in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, your character can wear whatever they like. Plus, when a design is as beautiful as Brer88's – with its meticulous detail from top to bottom and a perfect layering of blue shades – why wouldn't you want to put this on?

07. Beach Kimono

For something a little different on your virtual beach holiday, you might want to look at creator Dots' modern approach to the classic Japanese kimono. The lower half creates an almost rhythmic wave pattern, meeting the smooth sands of the upper half's gentle yellow. Look closely, and you'll notice staggering attention to detail, creating a rippled dune effect up top. This is spectacular yet understated work.

08. Black Lace Swim

If you fancy something a bit more scandalous, this exciting number from the appropriately-named designer Summer will do the trick. Blurring the line between a skimpy swimsuit and dominatrix garb, this is a look that's meant to turn heads.

09. Bikini Outfit

A lot of bikinis fans creations will be simple top-and-bottom affairs, but this design from Liz goes the extra mile. The sheer attention to detail necessary to create the translucent effect for the hot-pink gossamer layer is next-level stuff, while the overall look is cool and fashionable. The exposed leg, a result of the side-tied skirt, provides some eye-catching asymmetry, while the hints of yellow from the leopard print-esque swimsuit underneath adds a flash of danger to an already killer look.

Get the custom designs

To access any of these designs featured here in your own game, you'll need to go to your branch of Able Sisters, the hedgehog-fronted clothing store on the island. At the back of the shop is a kiosk that looks like a digital ad board – this is the Custom Designs Portal. Press 'A' in front of it and you'll be asked if you want to connect to the internet. Select 'yes', and once you're online you'll have the three options.

The first, 'Search by Design ID' is going to be your main point of interest, allowing you to look up the individual fashion items listed here. Enter the 12-character code starting MO and give it a moment to search for the item. You'll then be able to save it to your own Custom Designs app. You'll need a spare slot for it though – if you don't, you'll need to delete an old or unused one.

If you really like a particular designer's work, you'll want to experiment with the second option in the Custom Designs Portal, 'Search by Creator ID'. On this screen, enter the 12-digit code preceded by MA, and you'll be able to browse everything a creator has uploaded. See something you like? Save it in the same way as above.

The final option is to upload your own creations – read the safety messages first and agree to Nintendo's code of conduct and you'll be presented with your own Creator ID and be able to share your own designs with the world. Once you've posted your first, you'll get a fourth choice in the Custom Designs Portal – an archive of the designs you've posted publicly. Enjoy!