It was the 1940's and the middle of World War II when Australian designer Paula Stafford, facing a shortage of materials dreamed up the idea of two piece swimwear. It had little to do with style and more to do with saving the limited fabric available. The two piece suit at the time was a scandalous suggestion, and actually did not reveal itself until the mid 1950's when Paula donned the bikini herself and appeared on the famous Surfers Paradise beach on the east coast of Australia, shocking and tantalizing the beach goers.
Things really took off in 1952 when Sydney model Ann Ferguson wore a Paula Stafford creation on Surfers Paradise beach. A beach inspector told her he thought her costume was too brief so the next day she came back with 5 of her friends in identical two piece swimwear and tipped of the media, from that point on the popularity of the bikini could not be stopped. She had 65 staff working as much as 18 hours everyday to supply 400 stores in Australia.
Despite the claims that bikini atoll and the French introduced the bikini, it was Paula Stafford at Australia's holiday capital that introduced the world to what has become the greatest revolution to women's swimwear, and unlikely ever to be surpassed. Coined the bikini, the style has become synonymous with gorgeous beach babes, sun drenched beach holidays, relaxation and inspired many calendars, fashion front covers and beach competitions. The bikini is the essence of summer. Who would have thought that two tiny pieces of lycra could possibly capture the wide imagination of the world that it in fact has.
But after nearly 60 years, the bikini, in style remains the same, however design has changed with the contemporary demands of fashion and designers are designing swimwear that is fun, funky and flirty and celebrates everything that is summer, meeting the expectation of the modern girl looking for a fashion statement as much as a practical and functional garment for the water.
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