On July 5, 1946, French engineer and fashion designer Louis Réard presented a swimsuit that became a real revolution in the world of fashion. It was on this day that the modern bikini was first shown at the Piscine Molitor in Paris - a model that initially caused a wave of outrage, and later became a symbol of summer, freedom and women's fashion.
Separate swimsuits existed before Réard, but they completely covered the stomach. The novelty consisted of only four small pieces of fabric and exposed the navel, which in 1946 was considered extremely daring.
According to legend, the idea arose after the designer noticed that women on French beaches were turning up their swimsuits to get a more even tan.
Micheline Bernardini, 1946. Photo: reddit.com
"Explosive" name
Réard did not choose the name "bikini" by chance. A few days before the show, the United States conducted nuclear tests on the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The fashion designer hoped that his invention would have the same "explosive" effect on society.
Louis Réard and his models. Photo: scanningwwii.com
Professional models refused
The show could not have taken place at all. No professional model agreed to go on the catwalk in such a revealing outfit.
As a result, the bikini was demonstrated by 19-year-old Casino de Paris cabaret dancer Micheline Bernardini. After the show, she received more than 50,000 letters from fans, and her name will forever be in the history of fashion.
It's hard to imagine today, but in the first years after the bikini appeared, it was banned on many beaches in Europe.
It was criticized by politicians, condemned by the Catholic Church, and in Italy, Spain, Portugal and some other countries, women could even be fined or asked to leave the beach because of a too revealing swimsuit.
The situation began to change in the 1950s, when French actress Brigitte Bardot began to regularly appear in a bikini on the beaches of Cannes. Cinema finally made the swimsuit iconic.
Brigitte Bardot in a bikini. Photo: lolawho.com
A bikini that went down in the history of cinema
One of the most famous images is Ursula Andress's white bikini in the 1962 James Bond film "Dr. No." Film critics call the scene where the actress emerges from the sea one of the most famous in the history of cinema.
40 years later, Halle Berry repeated this look in the film "Die Another Day".
By the way, the original swimsuit of Ursula Andress was sold at auction in 2001 for approximately USD 61,500.
Ursula Andress and Sean Connery in the film "Dr. No". Photo: vogue.ua
The song that made the bikini popular
In 1960, the world was conquered by the hit Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by American singer Brian Hyland.
The song became an international hit and significantly accelerated the popularization of the bikini, especially in the USA, where before that many women were still embarrassed to wear such an open swimsuit.
The most expensive bikini in the world
Over the decades, the bikini has become not only a wardrobe item, but also a work of jewelry art.
The most expensive in the world is considered to be the Diamond Bikini, created by designer Susan Rosen in collaboration with the jewelry company Steinmetz Diamonds. The swimsuit is made of platinum and decorated with diamonds weighing more than 150 carats.
Diamond bikini. Photo: medium.com
Its value is estimated at about USD 30 million.
What else can be said about bikinis
- Louis Réard joked that a real bikini should be so small that it can be threaded through a wedding ring.
- In 1996, beach volleyball became an Olympic sport, and the sports bikini is its recognizable symbol. However, now athletes can also compete in shorts or leggings.
- In 2010, more than 2,800 women gathered in bikinis at the same time on one of the beaches of South Africa, setting a world record.
- Today, the bikini is included in the lists of the most influential clothing items of the 20th century, along with jeans, the little black dress and the miniskirt.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, meanwhile, the Grok chatbot was banned from dressing real people in bikinis.
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