When the bikini was launched in 1946, it took it's time to catch on due to the controversial nature of the two-piece bathing suit during a time when women weren't so comfortable with showing so much skin. But the bikini got by with a little help from its celebrity friends, and became popular partly due to the film industry putting their leading ladies in bikinis, and the general public saw that far from being sleazy and scandalous, one could look quite classy and glamourous in a naval exposing two-piece bathing suit. Movie legends who helped to propel the glamour-icon status of the bikini included Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot. In fact Bardot's movie The Girl in the Bikini is believed to be one of the first movies to feature this new kind of bathing suit.
To celebrate the bikini reaching the grand old age of seventy five this month, we take a look at five of the most iconic bikinis to grace our screens.
1. URSULA ANDRESS (Dr. No. 1962)
When glamourous Swedish actress, Ursula Andress, took on the role of Bond girl Honey Riley in the 1962 James Bond film, Dr. No. she had no way of knowing that it would catapult her into style icon territory. The scene where Honey is seen emerging from the ocean in a belted, white bikini complete with scabbard is the stuff legends are made of, leading that bikini to go down in history as one of the most iconic two-pieces ever. It has it's place in cinematic and fashion history but it's got it's place in the explosion of the 1960s sexual revolution.
Despite the first bikini having been launched in 1946, during the fifties, the idea of wearing this skimpy style of swimwear was still frowned upon by many. But Andress's bikini - which she designed along with actress and costume designer Tessa Prendergast - changed the way people saw the bikini, and sales of this type of swimwear began to soar.
Andress didn't mind that the real star of Dr. No. was that white two piece, and credits that bikini for her acting career sky-rocketing. The bikini was eventually auctioned off in 2001 and fetched £35,000 - bought by businessman Robert Earl.
2. RAQUEL WELCH, (One Million Years B.C, 1966)
If your primary school teacher ever told you that any movie featuring both dinosaurs and people are a load of old cobblers due to them not having ever co-existed, well - it's true! But in One Million Years B.C. directed by Don Chaffey - viewers were more preoccupied with a certain two-piece than this ahistorical concern...
Just like Ursula Andress before her in Dr. No, as soon as a fur-and-hide bikini-clad Raquel Welch - in her role as Loana - emerged from the sea, a new sixties sex-siren was born. The bikini that was voted the most iconic by Time magazine readers in 2011 (just pipping Ursula Andress's to the post!) was created by designer Carl Toms. Made of doe-skin with the furry part worn on the inside, the cut was very rough and jagged, thus giving it a prehistoric stone-age look. Three copies of the iconic bikini were made for Welch for her to wear during different scenes.
The publicity still of Welch from One Million Years B.C has become a cultural phenomenon and at the time became a best-selling pinup poster. And to think she only had three lines in the film!
3. BARBARA WINDSOR (Carry On Camping, 1969)
You don't even have to be a massive fan of those Carry On films to know which scene we're talking about here. The scene where Barbara Windsor's character loses her bikini top in the middle of an exercise class is right up there on the list of 'most iconic British movie scenes ever!' A strapless, lemony, towelling number, the famous scene where the too-tight top of the bikini is seen being flung into the air and into the bemused face of exercise instructor, Kenneth Williams, while Barbara clutched her bare bosom in shock, was created with the aid of a fishing hook attached to the bikini top, which was then yanked off by an off-screen assistant!
Last month it was revealed that the bikini worn in the 1969 film, Carry On Camping, by the late Dame Barbara Windsor was sold for a whopping £9,500 (it was originally estimated to fetch a 'measly' £1,200) to an American buyer. Not bad for clothing that had to be rescued from the rubbish years ago after someone had binned it. We know, right - what were they thinking! The proceeds from the sale of one of the most famous bikinis in the world will be going to The Alzheimer's Society.
Dame Barbara - who bravely fought against the illness and sadly passed away last year - knew that the scene from the film would 'follow me to the end,' and indeed both the film still and her quote were quite fittingly included in the order of service for her funeral.
4. PRINCESS LEIA (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, 1983)
It's a bikini that's said to have launched a thousand fantasies, and even if you don't know your Luke Skywalker from your Darth Vader, you will almost certainly know that golden bikini - although it was really copper! Worn by actress Carrie Fisher in her role as the legendary Princess Leia in the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the bikini consisted of a copper patterned bra, with copper bikini bottoms which unsually had maroon loin cloths attached to the front and back. A copper headpiece and arm cuff completed the look. The overall look is powerful, sensual and very warrior-like.
The bikini was designed by Aggie Guerard Rodgers and Nilo Rodis-Jamero - the latter having worked on The Empire Strikes Back. The inspiration behind one of the most famous bikinis in the world came from other movies as well as a general description from George Lucas. Multiple copies of the bikini were made for both Fisher and her stunt double, Tracy Eddon to wear in different scenes, including a rubber version to wear during the action sequences as it was far more comfortable to move around in than the metal.
Although it featured in the movie for only two scenes, Princess Leia's 'gold bikini' is probably one of the most talked about bikinis to have come from a movie; has it's iconic spot in eighties' pop culture and film history, and helped make Carrie Fisher a film legend. It's spawned spoofs and parodies - not forgetting Rachel Green's attempt at rocking the gold bikini to impress boyfriend Ross in Friends - and let's be honest... has anyone ever been to a Halloween party where there wasn't at least one bikini-clad Princess Leia present?
One of the bikinis made and worn in the movie was eventually auctioned off and sold for $96,000 in 2015 - a year before Carrie Fisher sadly passed away.
5. PAMELA ANDERSON (1995 and 2006)
The fifth and final iconic bikini on this list isn't from a movie. Instead it's real-life wedding attire! Every bride wants to wear something that makes her feel special and unique on her wedding day - and if you're a celebrity bride, you might even want to start a trend. And unique is definitely what Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson went for in 1995 when she married her first husband, Motley Crue's drummer Tommy Lee...
There are many white bikinis that have been labelled 'iconic; from Ursula Andress's two piece to the white bikini Myleene Klass wore on I'm a Celebrity. But Pamela Anderson was the first celebrity bride to wear a bikini when she married Tommy on a beach in Cancun - after a whirlwind four day courtship. Which explains why there wasn't time to go dress shopping!
Makes a change from the big, frilly meringue, we suppose! And while white bikinis have always been popular, the trend for such attire as bridalwear never caught on. However Pamela did don another white bikini when she wed Kid Rock eleven years after her first wedding to Tommy. A girl's got to wear what she feels comfy in! But let's be honest - there aren't many of us who can rock a bikini on their wedding day quite like Pamela Anderson can.
Do you agree with this list? What do you think is the most iconic bikini ever?
Photos: YouTube
Word Cloud: Angel Noire
