History of Bikini
1940-1950
From the early 1930s, stylish resorts were frequented by women wearing midriff-baring two-piece bathing suits consisting of a bra and modest, shorts-like trunks. Concurrently, these styles were being seen on the silver screen courtesy of Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties and, in a sarong version, Dorothy Lamour in the 1937 film Hurricane. Though these ensembles were alluring and sexy, they were not necessarily scandalous. The difference between the bikini and its two-piece predecessor is brevity. Simply defined, the bikini is an abbreviated two-piece swimsuit with a bra top and panties cut below the navel. Brhttp://www.xonair.com/detail.cfm?id=10108540&pid=asian&lang=USoadly defined, the bikini represents a social leap involving body consciousness, moral concerns, and sexual attitudes. Named after an A-bomb testing site on a remote Pacific atoll, the bikini has had a history and reputation deserving of its name.
1960-now
Fashion designer Jacques Heim and mechanical engineer Louis Reard both claim to be the first to launch the bikini on the French Riviera in Cannes in the summer of 1946. The design, two triangles on top, positioned to cover the bosom and two triangles, one front, one back, on the bottom, was basic. Though Reard patented his version and Heim is now remembered as a couturier and an early supporter of sportswear, there is much debate over who "invented" the bikini. A likely scenario is that both gentlemen had seen the local jeunes filles of Cannes sunning themselves in the most abbreviated beach costumes in order to achieve the bronze of the newly fashionable suntan. The bathers had pushed the fashion to the acceptable social limit, and both businessmen took advantage of this show of youthful daring. Officially, the first time the bikini appeared in a fashion event was at a poolside show at the Piscine Molitor in Paris on July 5, 1946.
The bikini has spawned many stylistic variations. A regular bikini
is defined as a two pieces of garments that cover the groin and buttocks
at the lower end and the breasts in the upper end. Some bikinis can offer
a large amount of coverage, while other bikinis provide only the barest
minimum. Topless variants may still be considered bikinis, although
technically no longer two-piece swimsuits. Along with a variation
in designs, the term bikini was followed by an often hilarious lexicon
including the monokini (top part missing), seekini (transparent bikini),
tankini (tank top, bikini bottom), camikini (camisole top and bikini bottom)
and hikini. Since fashions of different centuries exist beside one another
in early 21st century, though it is possible to imagine a woman combining a
bikini and a 1910 bathing costume.
Sports Illustrated is an American sports magazine owned
by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million
subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week,
including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in
the United States. It was the first magazine with circulation
over one million to win the National Magazine Award for
General Excellence twice. Its swimsuit issue, which has been
published since 1964, is now an annual publishing event that
generates its own television shows, videos and calendars.
It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales.
According to some, inclusion is considered the de facto standard
by which supermodels are measured.
