Museum Notebook: The Atomic History of the Bikini

Louis Réard at work. Photo / Supplied

It's been immortalised on the silver screen in many a classic film. Swiss bombshell Ursula Andress emerges from the ocean wearing an ivory-coloured one as Honey Ryder in the James Bond film Dr No, Raquel Welch wore one made of deerskin in the cult film One Million Years BC, Brigitte Bardot caused a stir when she was snapped wearing one with a floral print while lounging on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival in 1953, and Carrie Fisher wore a skimpy but elaborate one crafted from copper as Princess Leia in Star Wars.

Yes, we are talking about that iconic swimsuit style, the bikini. Fisher's bikini was famously heavy and uncomfortable, and she reportedly said the bikini is, "what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell."

As we've hit sizzling temperatures across the country this summer, the bikini has made its appearance poolside and on beaches across the motu. And while its shape and style has changed many times over the decades, the bikini has had an indelible impression on beachwear.

Bikini, 1990s. Made by Brian Rochford, Australia. Made from polyester and cotton. Photo / Collection ref: 2011.106.5

While there has been evidence of bikini-style womenswear dating back as early as the Roman era, the bikini was popularised in western culture in the 1940s. In June 1946 French fashion designer Jacques Heim advertised a two-piece swimsuit he named the 'Atome' with the tagline, "the world's smallest bathing suit." But in July 1946 Louis Réard, a French engineer who opened up a swimwear shop and became a clothing designer after taking over his mother's lingerie business, developed the 'bikini' after visiting Saint Tropez beaches. While there, Réard had observed women trying to adjust their modest swimsuits to expose more skin in order to tan more effectively. This inspired him to design a swimsuit with even more midriff exposed. He billed the risqué bikini as being "smaller than the smallest bathing suit."

He named the garment 'bikini' after the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands where the US began to detonate the first post-war tests of nuclear devices over the Atoll in 1946. The bikini was standard beachwear by the 1960s, and in keeping with shifts in fashion, generally became smaller and tighter, exposing more skin over the years.

A bikini from the 1990s on display at the Whanganui Regional Museum. Photo / Collection ref: 2011.106.5

From the Whanganui Regional Museum collection is a bikini featured in the current exhibition Dressed to Thrill: Fashion from the 1890s and 1990s. The modest but striking vermillion red polyester and cotton bikini from the 1990s was designed by Australian swimwear designer Brian Rochford, and was donated to the museum in 2011 by former Curator Michelle Horwood, who wore the bikini during the 1990s. It features a halter top and full brief, making it a slightly more conservative bikini than others may have worn at the time, but still stylish.

Designer Rochford was a milliner by trade and launched his first swimwear range in the 1960s. Known for excellent quality and innovative designs and cuts, the Rochford brand went on to become one of the most popular beachwear labels of the 1980s, and early pieces are now collectable. Dressed to Thrill: Fashion from the 1890s and 1990s is on now at the Whanganui Regional Museum.

Kiran Dass is the Marketing and Communications co-ordinator at the Whanganui Regional Museum.