Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style

From Pamela Anderson’s Ferrari red bathing suit on Baywatch to 1980s Speedos, the world of swimwear has given us some eye-catching moments over the years. The Design Museum’s exhibition Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style explores the evolution of bathing suits and how the garments have reflected our approach to swimming. Beginning in the 1920s, which swimwear began to be marketed for swimming rather than the Victorian’s preference for bathing, the exhibition will chart how what we wear on beach holidays and in the pool has evolved and the changing role of swimming in modern life including how it’s shaped our ideas of the body, autonomy, agency and environment. Look out for the Olympic medal given to  Lucy Morton, the first British woman to win a solo Olympic title in swimming in 1924, one of the earliest surviving examples of a bikini, the hugely controversial LZR Racer swimsuit and displays examining merfolk, sea people, water spirits and nymphs.