Bikini fashion show at World Bodypainting Festival 2014 in Austria
Woman showcasing microskirt at a fashion show, Alaska, USA, 2010

Women's beachwear fashion developed during the 19th and 20th centuries as rail travel became available in Europe and mass tourism became widespread.[1] The beach in particular became a holiday destination where people could relax.[2] The inhabitants of large industrial cities took to vacationing in locations that provided a contrast to their home areas. The practice spread worldwide and wealthy women desired new stylish outdoor garments to wear.[3]

Seaside tourism

Seaside tourism began in the middle of the 18th century.[4] Before then, the coastal landscape was synonymous with danger, a place where natural disasters occurred. The sea was thought of as a boundary separating people, and literature presented it as a place of unpredictable travel and shipwrecks.[5] In the 16th and 17th, centuries there was a change in attitudes to the seaside. English doctors promoted visiting the seaside to the nobility as a therapy for melancholy and for sickness of the spleen. In the middle of the 19th century, Thomas Cook & Son began to organize escorted tours for the English nobility to the Mediterranean, particularly the French Riviera and Liguria. Between 1860 and 1914, Nice became one of the most popular places to stay.[6] Subsequent developments in rail travel helped to make the seaside a place where city dwellers could readily escape from urban noise and pollution. Those taking vacations at the beach found their bodies becoming cultural symbols representing their identity and style.[7]

History

The early 1800s was the beginning of a period of innovation in swimwear. Women who traveled to the beach for seaside recreation typically wore knee-length, puffed-sleeved, wool dresses that were often black in color and featured a sailor collar.[8] This outfit covered almost all of the wearer's skin[8] in order to avoid a suntan, since tanned skin was a sign of belonging to the social class of common laborers.[8]

At this time beach goers often made use of bathing machines.[9] These were wooden huts on wheels pulled by horses, and were usually located along recreational beaches where the water was shallow.[10] People undressed inside the bathing machines, which were then drawn out into deeper water in order to let their occupants bathe unobserved.

By the end of the 19th century, there was a desire to have swimsuits that were less burdensome. This allowed exposure to the sun and more comfort for popular new seaside activities.[10] However, at the time, the only game played by women at the beach involved jumping through the waves while holding on a rope attached to a buoy.

The first attempt to a modernization of the female swimsuit happened in early 20th century, by Anette Kellerman, an Australian swimmer, who designed a form-fitting and more convenient swimsuit for a competition.

The bikini was introduced in 1946 by two French designers, Louis Réard and Jacob Heim, who redesigned the female swimsuit by dividing it into two pieces.[11] Initially it was called the "atome".[9] Although the bottom of the stomach was still covered, something that is not always the case today, it was an important development because this new form of beachwear was quickly accepted and gave women more physical and social freedom.

In the 1950s, women's curves were emphasized together with vivid colors. This continued until the 1970s, by which time the sexual revolution was in full swing.[9] Designs were increasingly influenced by the media such as the 1990s TV series Baywatch, which led to the high-cut leg becoming popular, appropriating a look derived from sportswear.[12] The swimwear fashion industry has continued with this approach, following continuously changing fashion styles and the influence of media[13] such as TV,[14] advertising, and the Internet.

Business

The Brazilian model Lais Ribeiro at New York Fashion Week, 2013

Thanks to the birth of beachwear fashion, business developed in relation to swimwear.

Occasions of use and materials

The principal occasion of using beachwear was the maritime holiday, and the most common material used in the making of swimwear was Lycra, which had the ability to stretch up to 7 times its original size. In 1974, Lycra was introduced to the market of beachwear.[15] This transformation allowed the replacement of swimwear from wet and misshapen clothes to lighter garments. Another occasion refers to the use of beachwear in sport. In 2008, swimwear provided inserts of plastic material with the aim of reducing friction with the water and improving sport performance.[16] Fashion shows are another occasion of use where many brands choose to show their swimwear lines. In this case, the beachwear is created to attract attention.

Industry innovations

Swimwear presented during a final walk through at Miami Fashion Week

Thanks to the development of science, society, and new technologies, there are innovations. The first concerns the birth of burkinis, created for Muslim women. This is similar to a diving suit made more feminine, so that these women can swim in comfortable clothes that respect their religious faith. Another innovation concerns ecological beach bags that are created using recycled sails.[17] Even thongs present innovations: from Indonesia comes the Paperflop,[18] the first thong made of recyclable and Eco-sustainable materials. Their bottom is made from recycled newspapers and other Eco-friendly materials, such as palm roots and husks of coconuts. As for the bikini, the Canadian Franky Shaw has developed a hydrophobic material that repels water. Something different is the Sponge Suit,[19] which is designed in California, and is a bikini made with a material that absorbs pollutants: people will use it up to twenty-five times, and then it can be recycled.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Valerie Cumming; C. W. Cunnington; P. E. Cunnington. The Dictionary of Fashion History. Books.google.it. p. 5. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  2. ↑ di Ana Swanson (2016-07-17). "Come sono nate le vacanze al mare?". Ilpost.it. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  3. ↑ Webster, Craig (1 October 2011). "Zuelow, E. G. E. (ed.) (2011) Touring Beyond the Nation: a Transnational Approach to European Tourism History. Ashgate. 250 pp. ISBN 978-0754666561". European Journal of Tourism Research. 4 (2): 248–250.
  4. ↑ Corbin, Alain (1994). The Lure of the Sea: The Discovery of the Seaside in the Western World, 1750-1840. Translated by Jocelyn Phelps. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520066380.
  5. ↑ Daniela Blei (23 June 2016). "Inventing the Beach: The Unnatural History of a Natural Place". Smithsonian Magazine.
  6. ↑ Salizzoni, Emma (2015). "Turismo lungo le aree costiere euro mediterranee: dalla scoperta, al consumo, al progetto del paesaggio" (PDF). Ri-Vista (Research for Landscape Architecture) (in Italian). Firenze University Press. 10 (1): 207–220. doi:10.13128/RV-17280.
  7. ↑ Booth, Douglas (2001). Australian Beach Cultures: The History of Sun, Sand and Surf. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780714651675.
  8. 1 2 3 Douglas MacGowan (2015-07-06). "A brief and revealing history of the swimsuit | MNN - Mother Nature Network". MNN. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  9. 1 2 3 Marlen Komar (2016-02-14). "The Evolution Of The Bathing Suit From The 1800s Until Today Proves One Very Important Thing". Bustle.com. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  10. 1 2 Pauline Thomas. "Swimwear in the Early Days - Fashion History Pictures". Fashion-era.com. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  11. ↑ "Bikini introduced - Jul 05, 1946". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  12. ↑ "Costumi da bagno, 100 anni di storia in 3 minuti - Video - Perizona Magazine". Perizona.it. 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  13. ↑ "Notizie sull'industria della moda italiana". Fashionunited.it. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  14. ↑ Francesco Tortora (2016-07-20). "Da Cameron Diaz a Scarlett Johansson: i costumi da bagno più celebri nel cinema". Corriere.it. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  15. ↑ "Che cos'è LYCRA?" (PDF). Laboratoripiazza.it. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  16. ↑ "Doping tecnologico: i costumi in poliuretano". Nonsolofitness.it. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  17. ↑ "Borse ecologiche uniche fatte di vele riciclate". Reregreen.com. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  18. ↑ "Paperflop: dall'Indonesia la ciabatta ecologica fatta con giornali riciclati – Frontiere". Frontierenews.it. 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  19. ↑ Andrea Indiano (2017-02-24). "Un bikini-spugna ripulisce il mare dall'inquinamento - Corriere Innovazione". Corriereinnovazione.corriere.it. Retrieved 2017-03-01.

Bibliography

  • Alain Corbin, The Lure of the Sea: The Discovery of the Seaside in the Western World, 1750-1840, Berkeley, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0140247992
  • Douglas Booth, Australian Beach Cultures: The History of Sun, Sand and Surf, Psychology Press, 2001, ISBN 9780714651675
  • Emma Salizzoni, Turismo lungo le aree costiere euro mediterranee: dalla scoperta, al consumo, al progetto del paesaggio, Firenze University Press, January - June 2012
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