Evolution of bikini: 65 years and holding strong

How the bikini originated
The bikini as we know it was created by two men - French engineer Louis Reard and fashion designer Jacques Heim in Paris in 1946. It had two pieces and was advertised as the world's "smallest bathing suit".

 

The new 'Bikini' swimming costume (in a newsprint-patterned fabric), which caused a sensation at a beauty contest at the Molitor swimming pool in Paris. Designer Louis Reard was unable to find a 'respectable' model for his costume and the job of displaying it went to 19-year-old Micheline Bernardini, a nude dancer from the Casino de Paris. She is holding a small box into which the entire costume can be packed. Celebrated as the first bikini, Luard's design came a few months after a similar two-piece design was produced by French designer Jacques Heim. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)  

 

Nicole Queva wraps a towel round her waist as she prepares to take off her bikini on the beach at Cannes. Original Publication: Picture Post - A Beach Tip from the Riviera - pub. 1946 (Photo by Picture Post/Getty Images) Reard named his swimsuit 'bikini', after Bikini Atoll, an island in the South Pacific where testing on a atomic bomb was done. He hoped his design would trigger similar shock among people.  

July 24, 1948: Two women modelling beachwear. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4593 - Fashion On Sea - pub. 1948 (Photo by Bill Brandt/Picture Post/Getty Images) But the bikini has been around for many years. Mosaic artwork dubbed 'Bikini Girls' dated back to the Diocletian period (286-305 AD) in Rome.

July 20, 1949: A bikini-clad fashion model sits on the bonnet of a Standard Vanguard motor at Eastbourne in east Sussex. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images) Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman was arrested in 1907 for wearing a two-piece. The bikini was made popular by actress Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner.

1950s: Woman in swimwear. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images) The bikini, although a hit in France in the 50s, did not get a good response elsewhere. The Miss World contest in UK, the Hays production code in the US, and the Catholic countries banned the costume.

Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) frolicking on the beach near her Hollywood home during a break from filming. (Photo by L J Willinger/Getty Images) Ursula Andress in 'Dr No' and later Brian Hyland's song 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini', and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, made it popular.

1950: Four young women wearing swimming costumes walking along a seafront promenade at Eastbourne. (Photo by Norman Vigars/Fox Photos/Getty Images) Two-piece garments worn by women for athletic purposes are depicted on Greek urns and paintings dating back to 1400 BC.

Bikini-clad chorus girls in a burlesque show relax backstage by beating out a rythm on a native drum, at the Tivoli Theatre, Mexico City. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images) The 1962 scene in 'Dr No' where Ursula Andress emerges from the sea in a white bikini has been named the top bikini moment in film history.

 

A woman emerging from the sea wearing a yellow bikini. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Sharmila Tagore was the first Indian actress to wear a bikini in 1967.  

1964: Large floral patterned beach jacket with fringe trimming on pockets and elbow length sleeves, worn over a matching bikini. (Photo by Chaloner Woods/Getty Images) Since then, bikini tops have evolved drastically. They come in halter-style neck that offers more coverage and support, a strapless bandeau, a rectangular strip of fabric covering the breasts that minimizes large breasts, a top with cups similar to a push-up bra, and the more traditional triangle cups that lift and shape the breasts. 

A young woman modelling a bikini, circa 1967. (Photo by Leo Vals/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)The bikini has sparked controversies. Critics said it is for perfect figures only, and for the very young, leaving out women with larger frames.

September 18, 1975: Model Marie Louise wearing a bikini and swimming cap made entirely out of rubber gloves, by Heffenden Richborough of Jantzen as part of the Britmarine and Jantzen Summer 1976 Fashion Swimcap Collection. (Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone/Getty Images) In 1996, when the Miss World contest was held in India, dozens of groups opposed the event claiming that the contest degraded women by featuring them in bikinis. 

1980: Dance group Legs & Co, a regular feature on BBC TV's 'Top Of The Pops' weekly pop music programme. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) The bikini is a billion dollar industry now with parallel trades emerging out of its production, such as bikini wax and suntanning. 

Kimberly Ann Pressler, MISS USA 1999, gives us a sneak peak of the Oscar de la Renta fun swimsuit, the Official Swimwear Sponsor of the 1999 MISS UNIVERSE Pageant. The Delegates had their choice of three trendy 'fun' suits; a one piece, a bikini or a tankini. (Photo by ho/Miss Universe Organization) Men's bikini gained popularity as swimsuits. They can have high or low side panels, string sides or tie sides, and most lack a button or flap front. 

Portrait of Eva Maria Gonzalez, Spanish Beauty Miss 2003. (Photo by Gianni Ferrari/Cover/Getty Images) The term bikini has spawned the lexicon of monokini (top part missing), seekini (transparent bikini), tankini (tank top, bikini bottom), camikini (camisole top and bikini bottom) and hikini. 

Latino model/actress/singer Sissi poses for a 2003 calendar shoot in Central Park August 15, 2002 in New York City. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images) Kiki Hakansson was the first and last Miss World to be crowned in a bikini.

A model wears a creation as part of Emilio Pucci's Spring/Summer 2006 women's collection at Milan's fashion week on September 27, 2005 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Europe was the first to accept the bikini when worn by actresses such as Anita Ekberg and Sophia Loren.

Women in bikinis wait to begin a march along the Las Vegas Strip as they help the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority earn a Guinness World Record for staging the world's largest bikini parade with 281 participants May 14, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Visitlasvegas.com) Bikinis created a controversy at the 2006 Asian Games at Doha when the Iraqi teams refused to wear such clothing. 

Miss Australia 2010, Jesinta Campbell, competes in the swimsuit competition during the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant at the Mandalay Bay Events Center August 23, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Bikinis have evolved according to fashion and occasion to include the national flag print, animal prints, edible bikinis and high-end designer ones.

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