Pamela Anderson, ‘explosive’ bikinis and the changing tides of swimwear style

By Leah Dolan, CNN

London (CNN) — High-cut, fire truck red and with a scoop neckline that seemed designed for slow-motion cameras, Pamela Anderson’s “Baywatch” swimsuit — worn by the actor during her tenure on the US TV series from 1992 to 1997 — is one of the most infamous on-screen uniforms of that decade.

Now, the storied swimming costume is on display at “Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style” — a new exhibition at The Design Museum in London, running until August 17 — where it is suspended in a glass case on an invisible mannequin, albeit with erect nipples. It’s the crown jewel of the exhibition, which maps the changing tastes and fashion of swimwear through the ages.

“This kind of thing haunted me,” said curator and fashion historian Amber Butchart, nodding at Anderson’s red swimsuit, which, she noted, was one of the costliest pieces to insure. “It was very much part of that ‘90s culture (which said) ‘This is how you’re supposed to look,’” Butchart told CNN ahead of the opening, citing the pervasive male gaze that dictated the public perception of female celebrities. “I think (Anderson has) done such a great job of turning that around and reclaiming her own image.”

Anderson began her acting career on “Baywatch” as C. J. Parker — a lifeguard, volleyball coach and beach café owner from California — who was rarely seen in little more than a tiny red one-piece, with an orange life raft tucked under her arm. Anderson has since worked hard to diversify her public image: writing a plant-based cookbook, going proudly make-up-free on the red carpet and making her arthouse debut with a leading role in Gia Coppola’s 2025 indie film “The Last Showgirl”.

But many will remember Anderson most for her role on “Baywatch”, of which she is widely credited with making the most watched TV show in the world, with over 1 billion viewers from more than 140 countries tuning in each week at its height. Many international broadcasters would only buy episodes that Anderson featured in, a condition that was nicknamed “Pamela Clauses,” according to her memoir. In 2019, to honour the TV series’ 30th anniversary, Pantone created a shade called “Baywatch red.”

All the bathing suits worn in “Baywatch” were custom-made for each actor by the Californian sportswear brand TYR. “They could highlight whatever they wanted to highlight,” said Butchart, referring to the actors’ physiques. So when it came to exhibiting the clothes, a traditional showcase display wouldn’t cut it. “We didn’t really want to put it on a mannequin, unless it was the exact proportions of Pamela Anderson,” she told CNN. Instead, the red one-piece hangs in the air — an object in its own right, divorced from the body that brought it fame.

The social power of swimwear

Beginning with the cumbersome knitted unitards of the 1920s, visitors of the exhibition are taken on a whistle-stop tour past the first modern bikini in 1946 (morbidly named after the nuclear testing site, Bikini Atoll, because of the two-piece’s “explosive” effect), onto the advent of Speedos and landing at the scuba crepe-turned-couture designs of luxury fashion house Viktor & Rolf.

But the showcase is more than just a story of shifting silhouettes; Butchart also chronicles the social power of swimwear. Encased in a Perspex display cabinet is a grim, municipal-looking rental bathing suit over a century old. Emblazoned with the words “Margate Corporation,” it was among the costumes once offered by the English local council to those who didn’t have the means to buy their own.

In recent years, brands have sought to make swimming more inclusive through design innovation. A Victoriana blue and white striped gender-neutral suit from Beefcake Swimwear, for example, caters to transgender bodies from XS to XL, while a tri-colored one-shoulder suit from Girls Chronically Rock features special fasteners making it easier for those with disabilities to get dressed. “Swimwear enables access to public spaces,” explained Butchart. “So, if you don’t have swimwear that works for your body, you are denied that experience.”

The exhibition also addresses the pressures that come with going for a dip. Tucked away in one corner of the show are reminders of the oppressive beauty standards pushed by fashion magazines and corporations as soon as swimwear got skimpier. In one 1925 advert for Zip Depilatory cream, copywriters promise freedom from “unwanted hair” and skin that is “soft and smooth, really adorable.” A Vogue magazine article a few years later dictated that “she who decides to discard stockings must also decide to keep her legs absolutely free from hair at all times.”

Over the next few decades, swimwear cuts would only get higher and higher. What makes Anderson’s “Baywatch” suit so memorable, Butchart said, was its higher-cut leg — a staple of ‘80s and ‘90s swimwear designs — and its one-piece design, a style that has experienced a resurgence in popularity. “Things had become so bikini-dominated,” she said. “Then, suddenly, it was fashionable to have a one-piece swimsuit again.” This, plus “the magic of Pamela,” Butchart added, referring to the star’s enduring “it” factor.

On the placard beneath the hallowed swimming costume reads a quote from Anderson on her own swimwear line, designed over 30 years later. “I think it’s great that Frankie and I collaborated at this point in my life when I really want practical swimwear,” stated Anderson, referring to her co-collaborator Francesca Aiello, the founder of Frankies Bikinis.

In what felt like a jab at the more performative days of “Baywatch” beauty shots, the actor emphasized that her own designs were centered on the realities of women, “not just taking pictures on the beach.” It was an important note to include, said Butchart, adding that she “wouldn’t have felt comfortable” featuring the red swimsuit at any other time in Anderson’s life. In light of the star’s powerful rebrand, however, it felt right.

“That’s why we’ve got this quote from her as well,” Butchart said. “Because we really wanted to give (Anderson) her own voice.”

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