The iconic LZR Racer, the swimsuit that Michael Phelps wore while winning eight golds medals at the Beijing Olympics, is still revered around Speedo's design centre.

It serves as a reminder of just how much a suit can push a swimmer to greater heights.

“In so many ways, that was the golden era,” said Coora Lavezzo, the head of innovation at Speedo's Aqualab in London. “We've got those suits upstairs, and even though I wasn't there at the time, I'm fascinated by them and just how we can get back to a smidge of that former glory.”

Of course, the rules these days are much more of a hindrance to swimsuit designers, the result of a wild summer 15 years ago in which rubberized attire was all the rage, leading to 43 world records being set at the championships in Rome.

The international governing body, now known as World Aquatics, decided the polyurethane suits were making a mockery of the sport. So the organisation hastily imposed strict new rules requiring textile fabrics and limiting the amount of body coverage from the hip to just above the knees for men, while women's racing attire cannot extend past the shoulder or cover the neck.

For coaches such as Bob Bowman, who worked with Phelps over his entire career and was on hand in Rome for a speed show that bordered on a farce, the rules are just fine the way they are.

“Everybody is on a level playing field,” he said. “We're still breaking world records in these suits.”

But major swimsuit designers such as Speedo, TYR and arena are pushing for the guidelines to be liberalised.

They pump millions of dollars into the sport, and would love nothing more than to be allowed to come up with revolutionary new designs that lead to vastly improved performances. But as things stand now, their hands are largely tied.

“I think a lot of our sport is just mental,” US Olympian Hunter Armstrong said. “It's just about feeling good in the water.”

The manufacturers are desperate to do more.