When was the bikini invented?

Tags: #Linen

A two-piece swimsuit is an indispensable attribute of a beach wardrobe. It can be quite strict, or it can consist of nothing but ribbons. When did they first dare to wear something like this, when did they invent this miracle?

Where did the bikini come from?

Something similar to the modern two-piece swimsuit was worn in ancient times. Ladies dressed almost like beach divas can be seen in ancient sources of fine art. Among them:

wall painting of the ruins of a palace on Crete from the times of the Minoan civilization;
image of Atlanta on a Greek vase of the 5th century. BC e.;
Ancient Roman mosaic “Rewarding the winners”.

Toilet details similar to bikinis are also mentioned in the literature. Ovid wrote about a certain fabric bandage on the chest where you can hide a love message. And the satirist Martial spoke unflatteringly about a female athlete with masculine habits: she drinks immoderately, loves women and... wears only stripes instead of decent clothes. Khione, the hetaera, appeared in a similar outfit in Martial’s bathhouse.

Interesting! The first swimsuits appeared in Europe at the end of the Age of Enlightenment: fashionistas inspired by Rousseau began to put into practice his slogan “Close to nature!”

Bikini and the history of the twentieth century

However, nowhere in ancient or other sources is it said who was the first to dress women like this. The inventor is always considered to be the one who is the first to publicly announce an innovation. This happened with the bikini - the word itself was unknown to few people until 1946. Unless for the residents of one of the corners of the Pacific Ocean...

Bikini is the name of an islet-atoll, which translated from the language of the indigenous population of Micronesia means “coconut place”. Lost in the ocean waters, Bikini was destined to become famous: on July 1, 1946, the US military conducted nuclear weapons tests here.

A few days later, another piece of news took on the effect of a bombshell: the Frenchman Louis Réard proposed an alternative to the strict classic one-piece swimsuit - a model made from a bodice and swimming trunks! He was inspired to do this by what he saw on the beaches in Saint-Tropez: wanting to get a tan over a larger area of the body than a swimsuit allowed, sunbathers simply rolled up their swimming trunks and pulled the straps off their shoulders.

The piquancy of the situation was that Réard had been an automotive engineer all his life and only shortly before the shocking invention of his contemporaries, he received an inheritance from his mother in the form of a lingerie salon. Obviously, the fashion designer-technician also had a keen nose for “hot” news, since he thought of linking the new product he had invented with the achievements of nuclear physicists!

Interesting! The first two-piece swimsuit appeared in the 19th century.It is difficult, however, to draw parallels between the modern bikini and the bulky ensemble: the bodice has long sleeves, the skirt is equipped with frills, and stockings are required under the skirt.

Bikini facts

Fashion designer Jacques Aime could also become famous as the creator of a new beach outfit - the first separate model appeared in his store two months before Réard's invention was exposed to the public. Aim named his creation “Atom”, emphasizing the minimalism of his product. However, Réard's bikini was even smaller, and the name was brighter. And all the laurels went to him.

Presenting a new product to the public was much more difficult than creating it - few would have dared to appear in such a form at that time! Réard's first model was Micheline Bernardini, a casino dancer who was no stranger to stripping. Passions boiled over at the press conference, and the bikini was banned in many countries.

An attempt at rehabilitation was the world beauty contest in 1951: Miss World Kikki Håkansson came out for the crown, wearing nothing over her ultra-revealing costume. There was such an uproar among believers of different faiths that a new ban followed.

Finally, in 1953, the word of cinema turned out to be decisive: Brigitte Bardot, beautiful and brave, staged a photo shoot in a bikini during the Cannes Film Festival. And the world gave up!

Subsequently, many swimsuit options appeared:

monokini: two thin ribbons come from the swimming trunks - you can wear this only on special beaches;
tankini: panties and top are almost separate - on the sides they are connected by two thin stripes or - by one in front;
skirtini - swimming trunks equipped with a skirt.