An itsy bitsy anniversary

The very first outing of the revealing two-piece was during a swimwear competition at Paris' chic Molitor pool. French engineer turned lingerie designer Louis Reard created what he claimed was "the world's smallest bathing suit" which "reveals everything about a girl except for her mother's maiden name."

Covering just 30 square inches of skin with four triangles covering the essentials, he named it the 'bikini', after an atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands just a few days before.

The design caused quite the stir with none of the swimsuit models willing to wear the skimpy number. In fact, Reard eventually recruited an exotic dancer for Casino Paris to step out in the revealing outfit. It took some time to for the tiny item to be accepted into the fashion world, and it wasn't until the mid 50's that the bikini became commercially popular.

In Spain, the bikini struggled to become fashionable because dictator Franco's Catholic regime prohibited wearing the garment in public. However, authorities turned a blind eye to the Costa del Sol, especially places like Benidorm and Marbella where European tourists had started to flock in the 1950s, bringing much-needed international money to the otherwise isolated country. In Mallorca, the police used to patrol the beaches in search for rule breakers, who had learnt to move to secluded coves to try out the trendy outfit.

Since then the media have continued to be fascinated with the item. Whenever a star or celebrity is spotted on a beach or in the sea, the bikini is deemed worthy of a mention. Numerous adverts in the run up to summer are aimed at achieving that 'bikini-body' and each year the fashion brands display their new and improved versions of this essential wardrobe item.