A French designer Louis Reard unveiled bikini 70 years ago. Bikini is a two-piece swimsuit. It is named after Bikini Atoll, a beach in the Pacific Ocean. The place where the Hydrogen bombs test was conducted. Let’s find out interesting facts about Bikini.

Evolution of Bikini   

The shortage of cloth during World War II led the creation of short swimsuits. The extra cloth from midriff was cut. Before World War II two piece swimsuits were common in liberal beaches of Europe in the 1930s. But the start of war put a full stop to swimwear fashion. In 1946, the market swimwear gained more attention and bikinis became a symbol of liberation.

World’s Smallest Bikini Suit

Fashion brands are competing for the smallest bikini suit yet trendy. Jacques Heim is a French designer who created the smallest two-piece bathing suit. These two-piece named atoms and aptly. This swimsuit was introduced in the market with the tagline “the World’s Smallest Bathing Suit”.

Shortly, another French designer Louis Reard launched Bikini in the Parisian Swimming pool Piscine Molitor in 1946. In the beginning, Reard swimsuit was a complete flop. No model wanted to wear an outfit made from 70 cms of cloth. But Reard succeeds to find a Parisian girl named Micheline Bernardini who models his outfit.

Some Countries even banned it     

European women accepted it with open hearts but some countries like Spain and Italy banned it from public beaches. Vatican women consider it a sin to wear this dress. However, by the 1950s many women accepted it as beach mainstay.

American’s also didn’t Praise it

American’s developed tastes for Bikini by the 1960s. In the summer of 1960, Brain Hyland sang a song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”. This song reached Billboard’s No. 1 position. This song conveys the message of American’s weird behavior to praise a new fashion trend.

Movies Play an Important Role in Popularizing Bikini

Movies and pop culture play an important role in popularizing bikinis. Brigitte Bardot, European actor, appeared on the canes waterfront wearing a swimsuit to promote her movie “And God Created Women”. Disney star Annette Funicello became the reason for the popularity of bikini among teens. In 1965s, she wore a hot-pink swimsuit in Beach Blanket Bingo.

Variants of Bikini

Bikinis have evolved into many designs since their creation. Monokini is a smaller version of normal bikinis. Other types of Bikinis are Microkini (not for faint heart), Tankini (tank stop showing less skin). The bandeaukini has a bandeau top. The skirtini, as the name represents, has a skirt bottom instead of a panty. Lastly, Burkiniwhich covers the entire body and is made for Muslim women.

Manufacturer of Swimwear

The largest manufacturer of swimwear is Speedo. The company has been producing swimsuits for over 100 years.

Market of Swimwear

The swimsuit market is largely for women. Women swimsuits make three-quarters of the swimwear market.

Swimsuit Revealing Torso

Swimsuits revealing torsos are considered indecent. For some ancient people like Sicilians and Minoans swimsuits are common.

First Online Purchase of Swimsuit

The first online purchase of swimsuits took place in 1984 from companies Ujena and Tropical Beach Swimwear.