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The bikini's birthday: a look back at 70 years of revolutionary swimwear

71 years ago, the bikini made a sensational debut at a Paris swimming pool on July 5, 1946

On July 5, 1946 Micheline Bernardini weared Louis Reard's two-piece swimsuit, which he called the bikini, named days after the first above ground atomic test in the Bikini Atoll. Louis Reard could not find a fashion model willing to showcase his revealing design for a two-piece swimsuit, so he hired Bernardini, an 18-year-old nude dancer from the Casino de Paris, as his model. A look back at 70 years of revolutionary swimwear — in this gallery by TASS.