Bikini by Maillots Cresprien, c1960-70s,
CT002886.1
One of the most popular makers of bathing costumes was the American company Jantzen. Initially founded in 1910 as the Portland Knitting Company, they began making wool bathing costumes in 1913, which were soon nicknamed “Jantzens” after one of the directors. The company changed its name to Jantzen in 1918. The trademark logo of a red diving girl was first adopted in 1921, when Jantzen's first national adverts appeared in Vogue and Life.
The women’s two-piece costume of the late 1930s was to make a comeback in 1946 but this time it was far from substantial and caused a sensation. It was called the bikini named after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, where the U.S. military conducted the first under water atomic explosion.