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Vanessa Hudgens has just upped the ante regarding her swim style. The “High School Musical” star showed off an intricate take on this season’s thongkini trend in a new ad for Caliwater, the cactus-based, antioxidant-infused beverage company she started with fellow actor Oliver Trevena in 2021. Launching a new watermelon flavor, Hudgens and her team tapped stylist Rachel Haas to dream up the wardrobe for a summer night shoot on location in Cabo, Mexico.
The images, taken by photographer Emilynn Rose, show Hudgens in a black two-piece from resort-wear label Antoninias consisting of the double-layered Amaze turtleneck top and high-waisted bottom, which comes in a cheeky fit with a long belt and rectangular golden buckle at the center. Haas decided to play up the hardware by coordinating the look with Belladaar‘s square hoops that boast a similar shape, adding rings, bracelets, and a body chain that hung right beneath Hudgens’s belly-button ring.
The pink RVN boyfriend jacket added a sophisticated touch, both speaking to the founder’s long list of accomplishments and introducing an unexpectedly playful element — it’s not every day we see a bikini paired with a blazer. Mitchell Cantrell slicked back Hudgens’s hair into a bun, and Kate Synnott turned up the impact with deep, rosy cheeks; a cherry lip; and glowing eyeshadow.
Hudgens has been game to try out many different swim silhouettes this summer. She slipped into a bridesmaid maillot for Sarah Hyland’s bachelorette party in Mexico, pulled off Barbiecore in a hot-pink textural suit from Hunza G, styled a watercolor-print bikini with a teal shirt in Italy, and made a splash in a neon Frankies Bikinis set with space buns.
Ahead, you can shop her full Caliwater campaign outfit and admire another angle from the photo series with creative direction from GG Magree.
