Blue and white, gold, mixed with stripes rendered in the brightest hues, polka dots have perked up seasonal summer fashions, especially swimwear, for decades. A quick trip back into the Fairchild Archives, past and recent, makes obvious the popularity of the polka dot iconic status in fashion.
Yves Saint Laurent 1979 swimwear collection and Gottex spring 2007 swimwear. Guy Marineau/Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
While the bikini itself was introduced in 1946 by French designer Louis Réard — Jacques Heim presented a competing two-piece around the same time — it was not until the 1950s and ’60s that the polka dots version would become popular. Heightening the mystique of the polka dot in swimwear was 1964 film “Bikini Beach,” starring teenage heartthrobs, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, who donned a respectable polka dot bikini, on the request of Walt Disney, for the promotion and the film. The print’s staying power was also amplified by the iconic song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini,” globally popularized by singer-songwriter Brian Hyland, cementing the polka dot print’s association with summer fun.
Moschino spring 2017 fashion show and Anne Cole resort 1990 swimwear. Giovanni Giannoni/Fairchild Archive/WWD
Bringing the look to the masses through the years were premier swimsuit manufacturers like Gottex and Anne Cole, along with luxury labels form Yves Saint Laurent and Moschino. Today, hardly anyone winces at its many iterations, from teeny-weeny bikini to the tankini in dots large or small. Polka dots flatter everybody.
While we’re still in the swing of summer, here’s a look back at the polka dot swimwear in 20 looks from the 1970s to the present.
