Va, Va, Va Boom!
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny
Magdaug and Patti Kishel
The bikini bathing suit turns 75 this July – a groundbreaking design statement that rocked the fashion world. Scandalous to some and essential to others, this skimpy bathing suit, that leaves little to the imagination, made its first appearance in Paris on July 5, 1946, which is now National Bikini Day.
Designed by French auto engineer/fashion designer Louis Reard, the
bikini was introduced at the Piscine Molitar public swimming pool in Paris
just four days after the first test of an atomic bomb at the Bikini Atoll in
the Marshall Islands.
The bikini was modeled by Micheline Bernardini, a dancer from the Casino de Paris.
Among the movie stars to immortalize the fashion over the
years have been Brigitte Bardot - wearing a bikini and a pout and little more –
Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, and Gina Lollabrigida.
A staple in beach movies of the 50s and 60s, the bikini became part of the West Coast surfing culture.
Brian Hyland got even more people on board for the bikini
with his Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini song in 1960
– a record that made it to number one on the Billboard Chart.
Not for the shy or modest, a true bikini, said
Reard, was made with no more material than could be “pulled through a wedding
ring.” Drawing on his engineering skills, Reard configured his creation out of
just four triangles of fabric precariously held together with string.
In the years since its introduction the bikini has proven to have amazing staying power, its popularity fueled by those daring enough to wear it and the many appreciative onlookers who enjoy seeing it.
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