Beach on the French Riviera. So he decided that he would try to come up with a better design that would make sunbathing more enjoyable for women. And that he did.
Réard took the name “Bikini” from the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands where the atomic bomb testing was taking place. He is quoted as saying that he chose the name because he wanted the risqué two-piece swimsuits to shock the world into hysteria the same way the atomic bomb tests had done. Another Parisian fashion designer, named Jacques Helm, released a similar swimsuit design a few months later to rival Réard’s bikini design called the “Atome”, named after a recently discovered atomic particle. Soon, the fight over whose teeny weenie swimsuit would capture the world stage was on.
Before long, Réard’s design, which was much smaller than Helm’s, began winning the battle. His Bikini’s were so tiny, that he had trouble finding anyone to model them and eventually had to hire a burlesque dancer named Micheline Bernardini from the famed Casino de Paris to wear the swimsuits for the newspaper reporters. But on July 5th, 1946, Réard’s Bikini hit the store shelves of Paris and became an instant sensation all over the Mediterranean. One year later, they were introduced to the USA, and the rest is history.
At first there was some backlash from members of both European and American society. The swimsuits were incredibly small and provocative compared to the swim fashions of the 20’s and 30’s. Historically women were supposed to keep themselves covered as much as possible when they ventured to the beach as not to appear unladylike or vulgar, especially in more religious circles. But gradually, the bikini became more accepted as part of pop culture when international film stars like Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, Ursula Andress, and American actress Raquel Welch began wearing them in their movies and out in public.
During the 1960’s and 70’s, the Bikini craze
Micheline Bernardini,
wearing Louis Reard's original Bikini for reporters on
July 5th, 1946.
Photo: Louis Malle
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