When was the swimsuit invented

Still, coverage was the priority over practicality, until sports took hold across Europe and America in the mids. Those trends led to the revolutionary one-piece—so revolutionary that one woman actually faced police charges for wearing it. This new design covered her body, but because it was designed for the speed she needed to win and form-fitting, Annette was arrested for wearing it in Boston.

As the one piece became more accepted, it gained frills and flourishes, like slimmer straps, the ruffle, and designed pockets like the ones on this orange twill suit from the s and 30s. Swimsuits like these started to merge the function of the one-piece with a fun sense of fashion.

For the first time, swimming was seen as a sport, something to be taken seriously, and the new one-piece swimwear reflected that. It was cut closer to the body and made of newly invented sleek material like nylon. Showing up at sports events like this, the one-piece shook up the swimsuit forever. As fun as these whimsical one-pieces were, the bikini was really what finally broke the swimwear mould. Men started to wear nylon bathing suits, mainly trunks.

In the late 50s Lycra was invented, which made bathing suits much more durable, comfortable to wear and easier to dry. In the 60s curved hips became more accentuated and the song "Itsy-Bitsy-Teenie-Weenie-Yellow-Polka-Dot-Bikini", which was all about being shy wearing a small bikini on the beach, became a radio hit. This shy attitude towards bathing suits changed during the sexual revolution in the s at the history of swimwear was changed forever.

Having a sun tan had become popular too, so the more skin was revealed the better. In the late 70s the one-piece bathing suits came back, but this time high-cut, showing the hips. At the end of the 20 th century the focus shifted back to practical bathing suits for speed and the classic one-piece bathing suits were commonly worn again, while skimpy bikinis were still in vogue for on the beach.

By the early s there is no limit to the range of swimwear that you can buy. Manufactures design all types of bathing suits for all shapes and sizes. Appropriately at the 65 th anniversary of the bikini, www.

Lastex would often be combined with artificial fibres such as rayon resulting in a stretchy and shiny fabric Kennedy Swimsuits could now be produced in a much larger range of colours and prints Kennedy Furthermore, at the end of the s, Christian Dior launched his New Look which consisted of nipped in waists and full skirts, accentuating the female form.

This exciting design shifted the trend to feminine and hourglass figures for women, including in swimwear. In this Lastex yarn advertisement from ca. The design of the bikini is credited to two separate designers who introduced the revolutionary garment at the same time. Jacques Heim, a French fashion designer, created a minimalist two-piece swimming garment in May , called the Atome.

The rise of the film industry and Hollywood glamour, which celebrated the female form in its entirety, had a big impact on the swimwear industry. At just 17, Bardot was one of the first women to sport a bikini on the big screen. Source: Alamy Stock Photos. Source: Getty Images. In terms of competitive swimming, Speedo first introduced nylon into swimwear in Kennedy Perhaps unsurprisingly, the technological advances in materiality were prioritised for use in male competitive swimming before female competitive swimming.

In the s Speedo introduced elastane into their swimwear. The combination of elastane and nylon significantly reduced water drag and improved the durability of swimwear.

Bathing Suit , Wool, elastic. Gift of Betty Furness, Peggy Moffit, monokini by Rudi Gernreich , Source: Feature Shoot. Designers continued to experiment with swimwear throughout the second half of the twentieth century. In , the designer Rudi Gernreich launched his iconic monokini Figs. The first topless garment, the one-piece consisted of slim-fitting high-waisted bottoms which were held in place by thin halter-neck straps.

Pamela Anderson, Baywatch , Source: Harper's Bazaar. Bikinis and swimsuits were still the go-to swimwear, which now featured high-cut legs, strapless bandeau bikini tops and even matching sarongs Fig.

This style of swimwear re-popularised the one-piece in this new shape. Competitive swimming in the twenty-first century has continued to benefit from technological advancements in shapes and materials. The body-length swimsuit is made from elastane-nylon and polyurethane. These swimsuits were controversial as many felt the materials being used gave an unfair advantage due to their hydrodynamic properties. Following their use in the Beijing Olympics, where athletes who wore the LZR performed exceptionally well, the regulations for swimwear in the Olympic games were revised.

Since the s, many female swimwear trends from the twentieth century are being revisited due to the cyclical nature of fashion. Something that is new in female swimwear in the twenty-first century is swimwear brands being more inclusive of female sizing. The pressure to look a certain way when poolside is slowly dwindling. Speedo Launch Worlds Fastest Swimsuit , Speedo Swimsuit Launch , Fiona Ibbetson is a London-based researcher in fashion studies and design history.

Tweets by FITfashionstory. References : Delis Hill, Daniel. As Seen in Vogue. Texas: Texas Tech University Press. England: Amberley Publishing, London: Carlton. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. London, England: Routledge. Previous About The Author. Fiona Ibbetson Fiona Ibbetson is a London-based researcher in fashion studies and design history.

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