Until the advent of the bikini in 1946, women wore one-piece swimsuits that covered their bodies for reasons of morality, but also to avoid exposing their skin to the sun.

Although this piece became a symbol of women's liberation and two-piece swimsuits became common since its advent, in the '90s one of the most sought-after styles was the one-piece, which was popularized by the series Baywatch and that today it returns with force for this hot season. A decade-by-decade review of this essential piece of women's wardrobe.

1800

It wasn't until the early 19th century that swimming became a recreational activity. Both men and women enjoyed the water with clothes on. They wore dresses and underneath long pants, and hats to keep their skin completely pale, which at that time was a symbol of social status.

1920

It was from this time that bathing suits became a fashionable set, although they were still conservative, although part of the legs and arms were already exposed. Most of the girls of this time wore bathing suits made of wool, and many of them complemented the outfit with stockings.

1930

The liberation of the female silhouette came in the 1930s, when fitted silhouettes and low necklines reached the beaches and pools. Elastic and satin materials began to be implemented in the designs. Swimsuits have become much more comfortable and tight in the bust area.

However, you had to respect the rules to wear these suits. On several occasions, the police were responsible for measuring the length and avoiding conflicts.

1940: The advent of the bikini

The story goes that Louis Réard, a French mechanical engineer, found himself in charge of his mother's lingerie company in the 1940s and decided to devote himself fully to clothing design. While vacationing on the beach in Saint Tropez, he noticed women rolling up their long, uncomfortable swimsuits to get a better tan, which inspired him to design a swimsuit that exposed the midriff. But he had competition.

In May 1946, fashion designer Jacques Heim created a two-piece bathing suit that he named the "Atom" and advertised as "the smallest bathing suit in the world." However, he was still not small enough to expose his belly button, one of the biggest taboos of the time.

When he set out to find a professional model to wear it, no one wanted to. That is why Micheline Bernardini, a 19-year-old nudist from the Casino de Paris, was the first to pose in a bikini that parade on July 5, 1946, in Paris. In fact, it was she who gave it her name, claiming that the garment was going to be "more explosive than the Bikini bomb", referring to the nuclear tests that the United States carried out in the Marshall Islands, a hidden paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

1950

For purely moral reasons, the bikini had to wait for its moment of prominence in the late '50s and early '60s, when one of its pioneers, Brigitte Bardot, promoted, with her productions in Saint Tropez and Cannes , its multiplication in the world of cinema and the media, contributing to a greater social and political openness in the West. Later, her role in And God Created Woman (1957) encouraged hundreds of women to dare.

In the United States, although some pin-up girls had begun to wear them, not all were encouraged. Jane Russell confessed that during the filming of The French Line she asked to change her bikini to a one-piece because she felt "too naked".

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1960

During the 60s, the bikini managed to find a place in the women's wardrobe. Thanks to nylon, it adapts to the curvaceous female body and the designs evolve to find the low waist.

In the United States, beach culture spreads and surfing and the Beach Boys seem to go hand in hand. Despite the fact that Sports Illustrated magazine published a special edition called Bikinis Only!, compiling the best bikinis of the year, the most famous image of the time corresponds to the British James Bond film Dr. No, where Ursula Andress stars in a scene remembered in the collective imagination.

1970

The 70s welcomed the "triangles" and the bottom also adopted a much smaller version, revealing more skin, but with a hip cut. Some theories suggest that the reduction in the size of the bikini had to do with the appearance of the first thongs, brought to fame by Rudi Gernereich who designed a version of the garment in 1974 to deal with the nudist ban on Los Angeles beaches. .

1980

In this decade there was an explosion of the garment. The two pieces from the eighties revealed a lot more of the body. From then on, it was installed in the wardrobe of women all over the world, of all ages, heights and styles, to show off their figure and accentuate their curves.

Floral prints, neon colors were totally new. The bikini contests organized by Hawaiian Tropic dictated the trends.

1990

Full-length swimsuits had a revival thanks to the Baywatch series, by two icons such as Pamela Anderson and Yasmine Bleeth, where women will show off their spectacular and curvaceous bodies on the beaches of California.

2000

In the first fifteen years of the 21st century, bikini fashion was a combination of the style of the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s. If at the beginning of showing the navel it was considered in bad taste, the turn of the century made it an essential requirement.

The use of fabrics such as lycra, crochet or neoprene, created a wide variety of designs. Renowned firms implemented a beach line in our collections.

2016

Like everything in fashion returns, the iconic piece from the Baywatch series - super cut and sexy - made its triumphant return this season and settled in the women's wardrobe as a hit of the summer 2016-2017.

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