Louis Réard
Encyclopedia
Louis Réard was a French automobile engineer who invented the bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...

 in 1946.

Invention of bikini

Although Réard was an engineer, he was running his mother's shoe shop Les Folies Bergères in Paris by 1946. Réard and Jacques Heim
Jacques Heim
Jacques Heim was a Parisian designer and manufacturer of women's furs and couture, whose maison de couture opened in 1930 and closed in 1969....

, his rival designer, were competing to produce the world's smallest swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...

. Heim developed his swimsuit and called it the "atom" and advertised it as "the world's smallest bathing suit."

In 1946 Réard introduced the bikini. His swimsuit was basically a bra top and two inverted triangles of cloth connected by string and it was significantly smaller. Made out of a scant 30 inches of fabric, he promoted his creation as "smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit." He called his creation the bikini, named after the Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....

. The idea struck him when he saw women rolling up their beachwear to get a better tan.

Marketing of the bikini

Réard could not find a model who would dare to wear his design. He ended up hiring Micheline Bernardini
Micheline Bernardini
Micheline Bernardini is a former nude dancer at the Casino de Paris before being chosen by Louis Réard to model the first modern-day bikini on July 5, 1946 at Piscine Molitor in Paris.-The first bikini:...

, a nude dancer
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...

 from the Casino de Paris as his model. That bikini, a string bikini with a g-string
G-string
A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...

 back made out of 30 square inches (194 cm²) of cloth with newspaper type printed across, was "officially" introduced on 5 July 1946 at a fashion event at Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor is an abandoned swimming pool complex located in Porte Molitor, 16th arrondissement of Paris, Île-de-France, Paris, France. It is next to the park Bois de Boulogne, and between Stade Roland Garros and Parc des Princes...

, a popular public pool in Paris. The bikini was a hit, especially among men, and Bernardini received some 50,000 fan letters. Heim's design was the first worn on the beach, but the genre of clothing was given its name by Réard. Réard's business soared, and in advertisements he kept the bikini mystique alive by declaring that a two-piece suit wasn't a genuine bikini "unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring."

Later life

Réard moved with his wife to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

from France in 1980. He died in 1984 at the age of 88.

External links

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