Story of the bikini: the legendary “two pieces” swimsuit turns 74 today, and we want to celebrate its birthday: the first model in history, in fact, was designed by French designer Louis Reard, in 1946.
The new swimsuit- which looked like lingerie – was considered so bold that all the models refused to wear it; it was the stripper Micheline Bernardini – an eighteen-year-old dancer from the Casino of Paris – who agreed to model for Reard- They presented his creation to the world on July 5, 1946 at the Piscine Molitor in Paris, a few days after the nuclear weapons conducted by the United States in the Bikini Atoll, which inspired the name.
For almost ten years, the bikini was considered something prohibited, illicit and scandalous: in many of the United States of America it was considered illegal, and the Pope himself called it “sinful”. It was Brigtte Bardot the first to break the taboo in 1952, taking part in the French movie “Manina, the girl in the bikini”; however, this provocative swimsuit model became popular only in 1962, thanks to a very famous scene from “Dr. No” from the James Bond series when the gorgeous Ursula Andress comes out of the sea wearing a white bikini designed by Tessa Prendergast. This moment marked the turning point of the bikini , which from “indecent” became “sexy”: that same year, Playboy published for the first time a bikini on the cover of a magazine for the editorial “A Toast to Bikini”.
The “Dr. No” scene had such a huge impact on the audience that it immediately became part of the mass culture – so much so that in another James Bond movie – “Die Another Day” (2002) – Halle Berry pays tribute to that “infamous” scene wearing a bikini similar to the Andress’ one designed by the brand Eres.
The comfortable, seductive two-piece swimsuit soon appeared everywhere – from sports to dance – worn by volleyball players, actresses, pin ups, samba dancers and pageant queens.
Today the bikini has evolved, and has given way to many “weird” models such as the trikini, the monokini, the tankini, the pubikini and even the burquini (worn by some Arab women), but it remains a milestone in the history of fashion and our society. To celebrate its birthday, here is a rundown of the most beautiful and famous bikinis of cinema and fashion to relive the story of the bikini together! 
