Swimwear is loosely defined as a category of garment often worn when participating in swimming or bathing activities.

Swimwear is expected to fulfil different requirements:

• Competitive swimmers need a streamlined and tight-fitting garment which r...

During the Victorian era, women wore bathing dresses with high necks, long sleeves, and knee-length skirts.

Linen and wool fabrics were used with belts at the waist. Women would wear bloomer-like trousers under the bathing dress to maintain their modesty.

Towards the end of the Victor...

The 1930s gave way to the health and fitness movement, favouring fit and healthy female physiques.

• Women were encouraged to participate in exercises deemed lady-like, such as swimming.
• Women also started experimenting with tanning, which became fashionable and conveyed that one...

Lastex yarn was invented in 1931 and became a game-changer for swimwear. Lastex would often be combined with artificial fibres such as rayon resulting in a stretchy and shiny fabric that would hold its form in and out of the water. Swimsuits could now be produced in a much larger range of colours...

In 1956, Speedo first introduced nylon into swimwear, and in the 1970s, Speedo added elastane into their swimwear. The combination of elastane and nylon significantly reduced water drag and improved the durability of swimwear.

During the 1960s, designers started selling ready-to-wear swimwe...

Material advancements allowed for significant transformations in twentieth-century women’s swimwear. Swimming became a competitive sport, and women started to compete in the Olympics in 1912.

Australian swimmer Anette Kellerman is credited with the modernization of female swimwear. She was ...

In the 1910s, Jantzen was the leading producer of bathing suits. Jantzen first produced 'woollen suits' for rowing clubs, but its popularity cause Jantzen to market it to a wider audience. In 1921, Jantzen referred to the garment as a swimsuit.

After the First World War, women’s swimwear tr...

The design of the bikini is credited to two separate designers who introduced the revolutionary garment at the same time.

• French fashion designer Jacques Heim created a minimalist two-piece swimming garment in May 1946. called the Atome.
• In July 1946, Louis Réard created what h...