Who agreed to wear the first bikini?
European women began to wear two-piece swimsuits back in the thirties. They consisted of a top and shorts large enough to cover the navel and most of the body. In the USA, two-piece swimsuits appeared during the Second World War, when fabric problems became tangible.
In 1946, after winning the war, French designers offered the public fashion models that gave people a feeling of freedom and ease. This also applies to swimsuits.
Jacques Heim and Louis Rierde proposed two prototypes of bikini. Heim called his model “atom” and promoted it under the slogan “the smallest swimsuit in the world”. Rierd's model, which consisted of a bra and two triangles connected by a narrow strip, was much smaller in size and was advertised as “smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit”. He called it a “bikini” after the name of the atoll of Bikini, where the Americans soon experienced an atomic bomb.
Reierd had problems finding a professional fashion model that would demonstrate to the public this clearly scandalous outfit. Therefore, he turned to Michelin Bernardini, a dancer, ready to go to the podium and naked. After her triumphant performance, Bernardini received more than 50,000 letters from fans and world fame.
Young women in bikinis on Mediterranean beaches caused anxiety among the public and authorities, and at one time Spain and Italy tried to ban the appearance of bikinis on public beaches, but in the late 50s they stopped the opposition by not coping with the mass distribution of this type of bathing suits.
Ryerd’s business flourished under the new slogan “a real bikini should pass through a wedding ring”. In Puritan America, the bikini standoff lasted until the early 60s, but also failed to withstand the pressure of popularization among young people, especially among surfing fans and rock bands like the Beach Boys.
Today, a bikini is no longer a “season beeping”, especially in Brazil and the Mediterranean, where “monokini”, costumes consisting only of the lower part of bikinis, are especially popular.
In 1946, after winning the war, French designers offered the public fashion models that gave people a feeling of freedom and ease. This also applies to swimsuits.
Jacques Heim and Louis Rierde proposed two prototypes of bikini. Heim called his model “atom” and promoted it under the slogan “the smallest swimsuit in the world”. Rierd's model, which consisted of a bra and two triangles connected by a narrow strip, was much smaller in size and was advertised as “smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit”. He called it a “bikini” after the name of the atoll of Bikini, where the Americans soon experienced an atomic bomb.
Photo © jnsm.com.ua
Reierd had problems finding a professional fashion model that would demonstrate to the public this clearly scandalous outfit. Therefore, he turned to Michelin Bernardini, a dancer, ready to go to the podium and naked. After her triumphant performance, Bernardini received more than 50,000 letters from fans and world fame.
Young women in bikinis on Mediterranean beaches caused anxiety among the public and authorities, and at one time Spain and Italy tried to ban the appearance of bikinis on public beaches, but in the late 50s they stopped the opposition by not coping with the mass distribution of this type of bathing suits.
Ryerd’s business flourished under the new slogan “a real bikini should pass through a wedding ring”. In Puritan America, the bikini standoff lasted until the early 60s, but also failed to withstand the pressure of popularization among young people, especially among surfing fans and rock bands like the Beach Boys.
Today, a bikini is no longer a “season beeping”, especially in Brazil and the Mediterranean, where “monokini”, costumes consisting only of the lower part of bikinis, are especially popular.
