by When we say ‘Bikini’, the first thing that comes to our mind is a bright sunny day by the beach. Isn’t it? We visit a bikini shop and check for different trending bikini. Whereas, there are few women who also go shopping for bikini accessories. All these things are cool and interesting. But, there is something more interesting about the bikini that you should know. We have a list of interesting and few shocking facts about bikini that would definitely amaze you.
Let us have a look.
1. A French Automobile Engineer Introduced Bikini To The World
Yes, you read it right. It was a French automobile engineer named, ‘Louis Reard’ who introduced the bikini to the world. He introduced the design into modern western civilisation on 5th July 1946 when he took over his mother’s lingerie business in Paris. The idea of designing a two piece bikini came to his mind when he saw women on the beaches of St Tropez rolling their swimsuit to get better tan.
2. The Name Bikini Came From An Island
‘Bikini Atoll’ is a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The US conducted the peacetime hydrogen bomb test at the Bikini Atoll on July 1, 1946. Four days after that ‘Louis Reard’ named fascinating outfit for women as ‘Bikini’.
3. Most Expensive Costs $30 Million (Rs.1,90,39,50,000)
The most expensive bikini in the world was designed by Susan Rosen for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2012. The bikini is an assembly of over 150 carats of D flawless diamonds and these diamonds are set in Platinum. The diamond and the platinum used made this bikini as the most expensive bikini in the world which costs $30 Million (Rs.1,90,39,50,000).
4. No Fashion Model Was Ready To Wear The Bikini
Louis Reard was unable to find a model to showcase the bikini. No fashion model was ready to flaunt his swimwear in front of the camera. This left him with the option to hire a nude dancer, ‘Micheline Bernardini’ who happily presented it in front of the world. Micheline walked a poolside fashion show at the Piscine Molitor in a bikini and won thousands of hearts. After that day she received over 50,000 fan letters.
5. Bikini Was Banned In Some Countries
The Vatican called bikini as ‘sinful’ and that was the time when bikini was banned in several countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Australia. Also, it was banned from few US states like Florida.
6. Special Bikini Is Designed For Muslim Women
Due to the religious norms, the Muslims women were unable to wear the bikini designed by Louis Reard. So, in 2007 a Lebanese-Australian designer worked on the concept and came up with ‘Burkini’. However, in Paris, a woman was banned from entering the pool wearing a burkini as the Parisian officials deemed the full-body swimsuit.
7. China Is The World’s Largest Exporter Of Bikini
China tops the list when it comes to the manufacturing and exporting of the bikini. The global shipment of China covers almost 70% of the market.
8. Miss World And Bikini
In the Miss World Competition that held in the year 1951, Kiki Hakansson from Sweden was mandatorily asked to wear a bikini for her crowning ceremony. Her bikini avatar received a lot of negative response and even the Pope disapproved it. At that time, the contestants from the countries like Spain and Ireland had threatened to withdraw from the competition. And this made Kiki Hakansson as the first and last model to wear the bikini on crowning ceremony.
9. Bikini Was The Official Uniform For Of Women’s Olympic Beach Volleyball
This step was taken in 1994 by the people at the International Volleyball Federation. The move received a mixed response; some believed it was exploitative while others felt it was a practical choice. Later, in 2012, the Federation dropped the rule of bikini as uniform after coming under pressure from conservative nations.
10. Women Only Beach In Egypt
Surprising right? Well, there is a beach named ‘La Femme’ in Egypt which is far away from the sight of men and the camera lenses. This place is for Muslim women where they can replace their long costumes with bikini without any fear of sinning.
If you know any such interesting facts about bikini do let us know in the comment section below.
