We've come a long way since the hugging tank swim suits of the early 1900's to trendy models in 2013 and certainly our attitude with it.
Designs have evolved over a century. From the neck to knee garment that women were to wear in the 1900's to corset like swimsuits in the 30's, skimpy Brazilian thongs to Daniel Craig's James Bond swimmer boxer trunks, swimwear has witnessed our social and technological evolution and adapting through the decades.
Liberated
from long skirts, young women of the twenties wore a figure hugging wool
jersey sleeveless tank suit. Women did not swim back then. They bathed. Men were swimming and they were doing so naked which they could do until beaches became more populated and women arrived. Those long woollen garments would absorb so much water than they would rapidly weigh a lot. Uncomfortable and unfit for swimming an Australian female swimmer and film star between 1909 and 1924 championed a new outfit more functional for women.
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Annette Kellerman c1900, Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star in her famous custom swimsuit - designed to allow for serious athletic swimming, unlike conventional women's swimwear of the period (Image: United States Library of Congress) |
It's only after the 1st World War that nations led by France, The US, Britain and Australia started developping swimwear into both sportswear and fashion.
"Channel creates the first beach Pyjamas... a sign of liberalisation for beach recreation"
The
swimming suit was ideal for the
androgynous athletic figure that fashion suited best in the 20s. It looked very
similar to male swimming costumes of an earlier era. The swimsuit legs stopped at an
unflattering point mid thigh and beneath the swimsuit legs were built-in modesty
shorts. Swimsuits were often in dramatic abstract patterns or stripes and those with
poorer figures covered them up with wraps. Channel creates the first beach Pyjamas in the 20's showing a sign of liberalisation for beach recreation.
It wasn’t until the 1930s that wool began to make way for better-suited
materials like lined cotton, elastic ruched waffle
nylon and Lastex – an elasticised yarn used for swimsuits that was a
forerunner lycra. Well-known swimsuit company Speedo originated in Australia in 1914, but
didn’t become known by its now famous brand name until 1928.
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| Swimwear catalogue from the 30's |
Sun bathing became more popular as an inexpensive
recreation. Athletic swimming and synchronised swimming was also
popular. The suits reflect the need to show more skin to the sun and be
more streamlined for water sports. Belted maillots were popular with boy
cut legs or slim skirts. The exposed v-back was invented and a few
daring ladies even exposed their midriffs with the first bikinis.
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| Jean Harlow striking a pose. Her suit is very glamorous and shows a lot of skin for the era. |
Feminine cotton
printed bathing suits often with little over skirts to hide the thighs gradually
replaced the ugly 20's fashion. The 20's suit which sometimes sported cutout
sections in the midriff panel disappeared as it evolved into a two piece
garment. By this era most of us would recognise the late 1930's swimsuits as one
that bears some relationship to swimwear of today.
In the 1940s, corset
manufacturers saw a gap in the market. Corsetry was losing ground, but the new
more revealing swim suits really needed experts to design garments that hid unflattering curves in a woman's shape. They achieved this by adding stretch tummy control panels to
hold in the stomach. Manufacturers also used bra cups and boning to give bust
support. Costumes could then be worn either strapless or with small straps that
buttoned onto the inside.The bikini was still
thought of as risqué and best suited to film stars and exotic dancers.
"A bikini is not a bikini unless it can be pulled through a wedding ring" ~ Louis Reard.
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| Striking yellow bikini in the 40's |
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| Jane Russell's glamour 50's swimwear |
The bikini was designed by French designer Louis Reard in 1946. An explosive innovation in swimwear, it was aptly named after the atoll in the Marshall Islands where the US was testing the atomic bomb. Reard’s bikini was made from four triangles of cotton printed with newspaper type and fitted into packaging the size of a matchbox.
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| Marilyn Monroe 1962, santa monica beach by Georges Harris |
"A girl in a bikini is like having a loaded pistol on your coffee table - there’s nothing wrong with them, but it’s hard to stop thinking about it. " ~ Garrison Keillor
Nobody is quite as timeless as Marilyn Monroe. Almost fifty years after her death, her influence on fashion can still be seen.The bathing suits of the 50s and 60s were designed to flatter womanly figures of all shapes and sizes.
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| Hollywood icon, Marilyn Monroe, sporting swimwear courtesy of favim.com |
In the 1970's the thong is introduced, and the string bikini's gain popularity. High cut leg openings appear, and Speedo launches swimwear made of Nylon/Elastane. Arena swimsuits is launched by Horst Dassler.
By the end of the 70's it was clear that showing a bit of flesh was no longer an issue. The influence of designer glamour had never been stronger. This was the era of Supermodels. Another factor is the venue where the exposure takes
place. The bikini is no longer simply a swimsuit, but a public garment
worn for tanning, playing, and glamour. It has become fashion-wear, a
vehicle to display the body of the wearer. The shoulders and back are the focus with an athletic body build emphasised. Therefore the one piece comes back into fashion and racer backs/T backs come in vogue. Neoprene begins to be seen in swimwear.
"The
emancipation of swimwear has always been linked to the emancipation of
women."
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| Claudia Schiffer demonstrates the luxe accessories with the swimwear that Karl Lagerfeld introduced at Chanel |
The bikini is perhaps the most popular female beachwear around the
globe, according to French fashion historian Olivier Saillard due to
"the power of women, and not the power of fashion". As he explains, "The
emancipation of swimwear has always been linked to the emancipation of
women."
In 1994, the bikini became the official uniform of women's Olympics beach volley, sparking controversy, with some sports officials considering it exploitative and unpractical in colder weather and athletes admitting that the regulation uniform is intended to be "sexy" and to draw attention.
Dancers, sex appeal and bikinis worn by women players as much as
athletic ability made beach volleyball the fifth largest television
audience of all the sports at the Games in Australia in 2000 Olympics.
Science into swimwear: Speedo Fastskin 2007
Recent innovations for swimwear in the 1990s was the tan through
fabrics used for swimwear. These fabrics allow you to tan through the
fabric without showing the nude body. But the most technological breakthrough came from Speedo. It developed the Fastskin FS-PRO high performance
swimsuit and made it available in 2007. In 2007 it was their lightest
and fastest swimsuit. Swimming athletes comments were used to develop
swimwear with the idea of producing champion swimmers. The Speedo
Aqualab Fastskin FS-PRO suit has low passive drag. This means athletes
swim faster in the water. The suit has a low absorption rate and it
feels really light to the competitive swimmer. Unlike the average
fashion swimsuit, this is a sleeveless all body suit from ankle to neck
with only the arms free. It is mainly used in competition swimming as it
is very costly.
"Summer trends for 2013?... Fresh and bold"
Summer trends for 2013? Retro is huge this year not only in clothing but also with the swimwear. Fresh and bold. Strapless bandeau are back and expect to see leopard print in all manner of shades, not to mention zigzagging zebra patterns and foxy giraffe print. Meow! Due to glamorous icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly,and
Elizabeth Taylor, who so elegantly donned such swimwear back in the day,
the trend has welcomely reintroduced itself to the 21st century. This
classic style is being sported by modern women, who are channelling their
inner pin-up girls. Retro swimwear’s return to the fashion scene this
summer has verified its timelessness, just like that of the celebrities
who originally popularised the look.
Let the glamour shine on the beach and embrace your inner goddess this summer!
Some iconic swimsuit moments:
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| Ursula Andress as Honey Rider in James Bond, well known as the Dr No bikini. 1962 |
- Ursula Andress’ white bikini, complete with hip-holstered dagger will mark 50 years of Bond style. Ursula Andress's bikini will join three more of the
most famous swimsuits from the 007 movies in an exhibition to mark 50 years
of the films.
London's Barbican Centre has been given unprecedented access to the archive of
Eon Productions for its two-month exhibition, Designing 007: Fifty Years Of Bond Style.
Farrah Fawcett's famous red one-piece - This was the bathing suit that made Farrah Fawcett a star. In
1976, a feather-haired Fawcett and her bright red one piece became
immortalised in a popular poster that came to symbolise 1970's pop
culture. The image, taken before Fawcett's most notable role in
'Charlie's Angels,' has been featured in countless films and TV shows
such as 'Boogie Nights' and 'That '70s Show.' In fact, the iconic red
swimsuit has been donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of American
History, along with an original copy of the poster.
- Pamela Anderson ran slow-motion circles around the hearts of men
everywhere during her five year stint as C.J. Parker on the megahit TV
show, 'Baywatch.' Her red lifeguard suit will certainly live on in
infamy.
Jessica Alba, Into the blue. 2005 - 'Into the Blue' may have been an indisputably terrible movie, but nobody was paying attention to the plot line so long as Jessica Alba strutted her stuff in a tiny bikini.
Brigitte Bardot in Cannes early 50's. - If anybody must get credit for popularising the bikini in the world it is French actress Brigitte Bardot. The bikini becomes such an integral part of Bardot's career that she becomes The Bikini Girl.
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Gisele Bündchen, brazilian fashion model late 90's
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- The Brazilian Thong or tanga first became popular on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s. – nicknamed ‘dental floss’. Although the 70's seem like a long time ago, thongs were found in South America as far back as the late 1800's and called then a g string. The thong was worn more and more often
in Europe and America in the 1980s and became very usual by the 1990s. With it came a boom in pubic waxing and the Brazilian wax.
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