Why a two-piece swimsuit was called a bikini and how it offended scientists (spoiler – yes, it’s all about female nudity!)

Until the middle of the 20th century, bathing suits covered most of the body. But in 1946, independently of each other, two designers presented skimpy ladies’ beachwear to the public. Glory went to one.

Jacques Aim, who has been sewing swimwear in Paris since 1932, named his revolutionary one-piece swimsuit “Atom”, responding to the spirit of the times – there was no subject more discussed in those years. there than the hydrogen bomb. By naming his work after a tiny particle, he wanted to emphasize the microscopic nature of the new beach suit. At the sight of modern thong swimsuits, Eim would probably have had a shock: the extremely daring “Atom” according to his idea was a rather massive bodice and high jersey shorts covering the navel.

However, Aim was not destined to shake the foundations as he should, as former engineer Louis Reard took the initiative from him. Suddenly heir to the underwear business, he reinvents The Atom in a completely outrageous way and presents it to the public just days after Aim’s show. Not only was Reara’s swimsuit incredibly open (buttocks were almost bare!), but it was named after Pacific Bikini Atoll, a US nuclear test site. “Bikini” is a divided “Atom” – it was one of the slogans of the advertising campaign, unambiguously flirting with the theme of nuclear disintegration.

The bathing trends of 1946 caused a terrible drama: scientists and the military were against the fact that the names of the polygons and the terms of nuclear physics were transferred to the pages of fashion magazines. Additionally, Rear’s model has been condemned by moral guardians.

But the general public was completely delighted – especially the male half. A publicity shoot for stripper Micheline Bernardini in one of the first newspaper print bikini swimsuits made the girl a superstar. Micheline received more than 50,000 letters, in most of them she was offered a hand and a heart. By the way, Micheline is still alive, and in 1986 she even agreed to reappear in an open swimsuit!

Despite the viral fame (as we would say today), the Bikini swimsuit did not immediately become fashionable, after all, not all girls were as daring as Bernardini. His 1952 film with Brigitte Bardot legalized it – it was released in the United States as “Manina, a girl in a bikini”, and, in fact, after this premiere, bikini became an independent word for a certain type of swimsuit. Certainly, until 1970, the bikini swimsuit was officially prohibited on public beaches in Germany!

However, the style of the Atom swimsuit is also not forgotten, however, the name itself was lost to time, and today, perhaps, only costume historians remember it ( and now you and me). Now it is simply called “retro-style swimsuit”: you have to admit, closed panties with a high waist and a simple bodice perfectly emphasize the dignity of the figure!

Photo: Legion Media