Although we don’t know if fashion designer was first to invent it as both claimed to, we do know the most iconic two-piece swimsuit in history was first unveiled on July 5, 1946, at the Piscine Molitor swimming pool in Paris.
Worn by 19-year-old showgirl Micheline Bernardini, French automobile engineer and clothing designer Louis Réard called his swimsuit the “bikini” after an atomic test by the United States that was held off the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean earlier that week. In a similar atom-inspired vein, French fashion designer Heim called his skimpy suit the “atome” (as in as small as the particle). Sadly for him, that name didn’t blow up in quite the same way that Réard’s did.
But, Réard’s 30-square-inches-of-cloth suit was not an immediate hit.
Called “four triangles of nothing” by some newspapers at the time, the bikini was banned on some beaches including Spain, Italy, and Portugal, and was prohibited from being used in Hollywood films thanks to the United States Motion Picture Production Code which did not allow for the display of navels.
Viewed as indecent by many, a 1957 issue of Modern Girl wrote: “It is hardly necessary to waste words over the so-called bikini since it is inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing.”
However, as beachgoers in areas that allowed the skimpy suit continued to wear it, Hollywood stars like Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jane Russell started to pose for photographs wearing the bikini, further raising its profile.
By 1960, the bikini was beginning to be embraced in prudish America and was even immortalized in song by pop singer Brian Hyland when he recorded “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini.”
Two years later, Swiss actress Ursula Andress brought the bikini even further into the spotlight of popular culture when she wore a white one while playing Honey Rider in the James Bond film Dr. No.
Around the same time, Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon appeared in a string of movies including How To Stuff a Wild Bikini and Bikini Beach that centered on beach culture and, as their titles suggest, prominently featured Réard’s (or Heim’s) creation.
For Americans who found the bikini objectionable, it was all downhill from there.
Sports Illustrated introduced its annual “Swimsuit Issue” in 1964 with a bikini-clad model on the cover. From there, it wasn’t long before we began seeing the bikini anywhere and everywhere.
During beauty contests …
At Formula One races …
During beach volleyball matches …
At Wimbledon …
During football games …
At the Preakness …
During bodybuilding contests …
And in the mud …
“In 1946, France had just come out of the war and people had a need to live again,” Réard said during a 1974 interview about his creation. “I felt I had to design something that would make people understand that life can start over and be beautiful.”
Now, 72 years later, we can safely say mission accomplished.
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