“Plunging into the Past: A Journey Through Swimming’s Rich History at the Design Museum”

London’s Design Museum is set to commemorate a hundred years of swimming and fashion with its upcoming exhibition titled ‘Splash!’, featuring the renowned red swimsuit donned by actress Pamela Anderson in the American TV show Baywatch.

‘Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style’ is scheduled to commence on March 28, highlighting the transformation of swimming over the last century within social, cultural, technological, and environmental frameworks, from the rise of lidos in Britain during the early 20th century to the popular Mermaidcore trend of the 2020s.

The exhibition will display over 200 items sourced from approximately 50 lenders throughout Europe, including the initial Olympic gold medal awarded for solo swimming to British athlete Lucy Morton in the 200m breaststroke at the 1924 Paris Olympics, the contentious and now-prohibited LZR Racer high-performance swimsuit devised by Speedo and NASA, which generated allegations of “technical doping,” and one of the earliest known examples of a bikini.

It will include three comprehensive sections reflecting the three environments in which swimming takes place – the pool, the lido, and nature, diving into design’s influence in forming our connection with swimming, encompassing athletic performance, fashion, architecture, environmental concerns, and body image.

Pamela Anderson’s Baywatch swimsuit to be showcased at Design Museum in London

The exhibition will be co-curated by Amber Butchart, a historian and broadcaster in dress and design, recognized for her segments on BBC One’s ‘The Great British Sewing Bee,’ also tracing the progression of men’s swimwear, featuring one of the earliest items available – a striped wool swimsuit from 1933, created under the Bukta brand.

The most striking items for men will include a display consisting of 10 Speedo briefs, spanning from the 1980s to the current era.

This exhibition will also delve into the narrative of swimwear designed for athletic excellence, inspecting developments in fabric technology, including the woolen Jantzen Swimsuit from the 1930s with a Y-shaped back intended to enhance speed, as well as a 1960s swimsuit made from Bri-Nylon, designed in collaboration with Olympic champion swimmer Judy Grinham, the second woman to secure an individual gold for Britain in swimming at the Olympics.

A section will additionally investigate the designers behind swimwear and its target demographics, analyzing how design impacts the inclusion of different bodies in social settings. This will highlight contemporary swimwear designers whose creations promote bodily autonomy and agency, challenging previously held notions regarding access to pools and beaches.

Tim Marlow, the director and chief officer of the Design Museum, stated: “The narrative of swimming transcends mere sporting history, as our latest exhibition will vividly demonstrate.

“By investigating the swimming culture through a design perspective, we will delve into a myriad of shifting concepts regarding our lifestyles from the dawn of the twentieth century to now, encompassing materials and manufacturing to leisure, travel, performance, wellbeing, and ecological concerns. It’s yet another groundbreaking exhibition that will illustrate to visitors at the Design Museum the significant influence of design across nearly every facet of our existence.”

‘Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style’ is scheduled to be exhibited at the Design Museum in London from March 28 to August 17.