The style of swimsuit known as the
modern bikini was
invented in Paris, France in 1946. Two similar designs were independently
created at the same time by Louis Reard, a car engineer, and Jacques Heim, a fashion
designer. It was named after Bikini Atoll, a tiny group of islands located in the Pacific Ocean and the
site of an nuclear bomb test at the time, because Reard hoped that his design would cause as
much controversy as the test.
The two designers have had to share
the honour of the invention as Heim’s design was the
first one to be actually worn on the
beach, but Reard gave it the name that has been associated
with it ever since.
The bikini consists of a two part
swim suit, a bra-style top, and a bottom part that can be a
small as a thong, or as large as
regular underwear. The lower part is often as simple as two
triangles of cloth connected by
strings, but there are now many variations.
Reard was inspired by seeing ladies
on the beach trying to get a better tan by turning up their
one piece swimsuits.
To begin with, bikinis were
outrageous and the design even made the news, but they only
became popular in France. It wasn’t
until Brigitte Bardot wore one during the Cannes Film
Festival in 1953 that they took off
in the US, and some countries even banned them until the
early 1960s.
The famous scene from the Bond film
Dr. No featuring Ursula Andress in an iconic white
bikini in 1962 helped to increase
their popularity even further, and the bikini industry has kept
growing and expanding ever since.
They soon hit the mainstream with
the help of the sexual revolution in the late 1960’s and
became considered standard beach
wear, even becoming the official uniform of women’s
Olympic beach volleyball in 1994.
Many variations have appeared over
the years, from super mall variants such as the microkini,
to transparent ones called seekinis
and male versions known as mankinis.
With the advent of stronger and more
flexible materials such as lycra and spandex, even more
variations appeared and they started
to become more popular in the world of athletics with
many female athletes opting to wear
bikini bottoms for comfort and convenience.
By 2004 the bikini industry was
estimated to be worth 811 million US dollars per year and
continues to grow.
Louis Reard’s original design was
made from regular cloth that he had lying around from
working in his mothers lingerie
business, but they have since been made from all kind of
materials from rubber to 20 carat
diamonds.
As well as expensive luxury items it
is also easy now to find cheap bikinis in clothing stores
as they have become such a normal
part of a womans range of clothing.
These days it is not considered
shocking at all for actresses or models to be wearing a bikini
on tv, advertisements or in films,
yet only 50 years ago this was still shocking enough to cause
outrage. The story of the bikini is
far from over, but it is sure to continue to play a part in
fashion
and popular culture for many years yet.
