Fashion — 1963
Bathing dress, bikini
The swimwear company Jantzen Incorporated was founded in 1910 in Portland, Oregon as a knitting company. After the First World War, Jantzen was a leader in promoting swimwear. Many of its swimsuits were featured in Vogue and in Life magazine. The company is best known for its Red Diving Girl logo, which was even pasted onto train windows.
As part of its campaign, the company promoted 'Learn to Swim' weeks and 'Clean Water' in beaches and bays throughout the United States. Because the product was so successful, swimsuits had become Jantzen's sole output by 1927. By 1930, the company was also operating in England, South America and Australia. In 2002, the Jantzen brand was bought by Perry Ellis International.
The wearer of the bikini said that Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1963 film 'Cleopatra' inspired the geometric pattern of the printed cotton from which it was made.
- Category:
- Fashion
- Object ID:
- 68.104/8a-b
- Object name:
- bathing dress, bikini
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- Jantzen
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1963
- Material:
cotton, rayon
- Measurements/duration:
- C 864 mm (bust), C 710 mm (hips)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
Perry Ellis International
- Image credit:
© Perry Ellis International
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.