'The bikini' was introduced 70 years ago
On July 5, 1946, French designer Louis Reard unveiled the bikini, a two-piece swimsuit, at a swimming pool in Paris. He dubbed the garment “bikini,” inspired by a US atomic test that took place off the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean earlier that week. Reard promoted his creation as “smaller than the world’s smallest bathing suit.”