Speedos, lidos and that Baywatch swimsuit

A major exhibition celebrating swimwear and swimming culture, curated by Essex research student Amber Butchart, has opened at the Design Museum.

Pamela Anderson’s eye-popping red swimsuit from Baywatch, a pair of 1980s Speedos and the costume worn by pioneering Black British swimmer Alice Dearing at the Tokyo Olympics are amongst the 200 items on display.

The exhibition, which is open until 17 August, is arranged in three sections based on places where we swim: the pool, the lido and in nature.

As well as exploring what we wear to swim, the exhibition explores why we swim, where we swim and what it tells us about culture, politics and society.

Amber, who lives in Margate, was first inspired to create the exhibition during the Covid-19 pandemic, when indoor pools were closed and her daily swim in the town’s tidal pool became a “life affirming” ritual that she looked forward to.

Margate is one of Britain’s oldest seaside resorts with a swimming heritage dating back to the 1730s. Swimwear was first marketed for swimming, rather than for the Victorian habit of ‘bathing’, in the 1920s and beach holidays became hugely popular at the same time.

The oldest item on display is, fittingly, a knitted municipal bathing costume that swimmers could rent from the Margate Corporation which pre-dates the council, a scheme which Amber says made swimming and being in a public place inclusive.

Speaking to The Guardian, Amber explained: “You can’t go swimming in a public space if you don’t have a swimsuit. So, it’s immediately getting into those questions of who has access and who is not given access.”

Bringing the story right up to date, Amber continues this theme of inclusivity by showcasing contemporary designers and architects who are improving accessibility, such as the UK’s first beach huts purpose-built for people with disabilities and a range of swimwear designed for non-binary, trans and gender non-conforming people.

Other objects on show include the banned ‘technical doping’ LZR Racer swimsuit, one of the earliest surviving examples of a bikini and a detailed architectural model of the Zaha Hadid-designed London 2012 Aquatics Centre.

Amber is a fashion historian well known for her appearances on the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee. She is completing a practice-led PhD in curating, focusing on exhibitions of political and propaganda textiles. 

She added: “Obviously it’s a show about design and architecture and fashion, but there are so many social histories, and also wider global histories, that I wanted to try to get in as well, because this idea of outdoor swimming, the sea as redemptive, this is not the case for everyone.

“There are many communities in Britain that aren’t taught to swim for various reasons. And I’m in Kent, where we have people crossing [the Channel] in small boats which is this enormous tragedy. The sea is not a sanctuary for everyone.”

Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style is at the Design Museum until 17 August. Tickets start at £7.19 and are bookable through the Design Museum.