Rudi Gernreich’s Monokini.

In 1964, Rudi Gernreich (1922-1985) designed one of the most interesting bathing suits in history: a topless bathing suit called the monokini.

Gernreich himself was interesting. He was born in Vienna and with the rising presence of Nazism, he fled Austria at age 16 to Los Angeles, where he developed a career as a dancer. He then moved into fashion, working closely with the model Peggy Moffitt and the photographer William Claxton, to become one of the more forward-thinking designers of the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s. For Werner, he invented the “no-bra bra” which consisted of sheer stretchy fabric with no fasteners or underwires. And he invented the topless monokini, the pubikini (a bathing suit with a cut-out to reveal the pubic hair), and the thong, as well as the idea of unisex fashion.

In 1950, he was the co-founder of the Mattachine Society, the first (lasting) gay liberation group, preceded only by the Society for Human Rights (1924), which was promptly shut down by police.

(F/lthyGorgeousTh/ngs)

September 02, 2009, 4:58pm