The bikini turns 69 today!

On World Bikini Day, today, here’s looking at how the tiniest scrap in a woman’s wardrobe came to be linked, over the years, to the emancipation of women the world over.
Since the day – way back in 1946, on July 5 – Parisian engineer Louis Reard invented the two-piece swimwear and named it bikini (after Bikini Atoll, in Marshall Islands, where there was atomic bomb was being tested at that time), the bikini has always stayed in the forefront of women’s fashion.Over the years, it has undergone many avatars and fashionable cuts, survived resistance by the church and puritans for being too ‘risqué’, and outlived the multitude of fashionable trends that came and went. But till date, thanks to celebs and models with enviable figures, flaunting the latest in bikini and the bikini-bod remains every woman’s singular fashion dream.
From the atome came... Bikini
The same year that Reard gave the world the bikini, designer Jacques Heim came up with the minimalist version that we see today and called it ‘Atome’ after the smallest particle known then. But the person who gave the bikini a real fashion push was Brigitte Bardot, who was photographed wearing one during the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. She not only popularised the bikini world over, she also made the beaches of Saint-Tropez the bikini capital of the world. Almost a decade later, the bikini became the most-wanted fashion accessory once again when Ursula Andress emerged out of the water wearing a white one, in the 1962 Bond film, Dr. No. That scene is so iconic that Halle Berry got talked about for recreating that scene in yet another Bond film, Die Another Day.
The bikini made a late entry into India, and came to the forefront only with Sharmila Tagore wearing one in An Evening in Paris. She set a trend in Bollywood that was quickly cashed in on by Parveen Babi in Yeh Nazdeekiyan, Zeenat Aman in Heera Panna and later, Dimple Kapadia in the mega hit, Bobby. Over the years, the bikini has traversed the distance between the silverscreen and the real world, and today, it’s part of every bride’s trousseau.
Kollywood’s bikini scenes
One of the first actresses to have worn a bikini was Manjula, way back in 1975, when she shared screen space with Sivaji Ganesan for the film, Dr. Siva. Since then, we have seen Sridevi, Madhavi, Amala, Mumtaj, Simran and Kiran sporting one. The garment became more popular when Nayantara sported it in Billa (Tamil) and Anushka Shetty who wore it for the Telugu version. Even Amy Jackson’s pictures went viral online when she sported it for the Telugu film, Yevadu.
Hollywood actresses and the bikini
Think Angelina Jolie’s black bikini scene in Tomb Raider:Cradle Of Life, Jessica Biel in Stealth
Remember Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz boasting their chiselled bodies in Charlie’s Angels 2?
There was Jessica Alba in her electrifying blue bikini in Into The Blue, and Jessica Simpson in Dukes Of Hazzard.
Famous Bikini Beaches
Tamarama beach in Sydney, which is also called Glamarama
Playa del Carmen in Mexico, known for its beach-bars and impressive beach bodies.
Remember The song, The Girl From Ipanema? Well, that song is one of the reasons why Ipanema beach in Brazil is popular.
Gold Coast in New Zealand and,
The Waikiki beach, Hawaii
- Mrinalini.Sundar@timesgroup.com