The history of the bikini can be traced back to antiquity. Illustrations of Roman women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events have been found in several locations. The most famous of them is Villa Romana del Casale. French engineer Louis Réard introduced the modern bikini, modeled by Micheline Bernardini, in July 5, 1946, borrowing the name for his design from the Bikini Atoll, where post-war testing on the atomic bomb was happening.
The same summer of 1946 in which Heim was introducing his “Atome,” Louis Reard was creating his own similar, two-piece swimsuit. He named and marketed his swimsuit as the bikini, proclaiming that it was “smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world.” Reard christened his swimsuit the bikini in honor of post-WWII, experimental atomic bombs being detonated in the South Pacific, near the Bikini Reef. The bikini swimsuit was supposed to have caused the same earth-shattering reaction among those who viewed it as was inspired by the rising mushroom clouds of atomic bombs. The bikini soon superseded the “Atome” as the official appellation of the two-piece swimsuit.
The bikini received its first official induction into swimwear fashion on July 5, 1946 when French model Micheline Bernardini paraded onto the runway in it at a poolside fashion show in Paris. A number of American correspondents responsible for reporting the fashion show were both shocked and titillated by the model’s skimpy attire. While many Americans believed the bikini was simply too scandalous for virtuous American women to adopt, the bikini would make its debut into American fashion only one year later.
"Obviously, us young men thought it was great to see the girls with their beautiful bodies, wearing these two-piece swimsuits," Bert Schwarz.