A century of Rudi Gernreich: the revolutionary fashion designer who gave us the infamous ‘monokini’

Although he died in 1985, this August would have marked 100 years since Gernreich’s birth. And while his predictions may have been somewhat hopeful, he worked tirelessly to make them a reality, attempting to desexualize and liberate the female form.

Born in Austria in 1922, he grew up with his aunt and uncle who owned a clothing store in Vienna. It was here that Gernreich learned about fashion by sketching dresses for Viennese high society.

In 1938, at the age of 16, Gernreich and his mother left Austria as Jewish refugees and moved to Los Angeles, California. His first, haunting job was washing bodies to prepare them for autopsy. “People tell me that my clothes are so self-conscious that I must have studied anatomy. I bet I studied anatomy,” he once said, referring to his work in the morgue.

His goal as a designer was to liberate the body, physically and mentally, by breaking the limitations of clothing – both materially and socially. He wanted to unpack the taboos of nudity, to celebrate every part of a person, but without the sexualization attached.

First, he removed the bony, stiff underwire corset from swimwear, then in 1964, he went so far as to remove all the fabric covering the chest, resulting in the first topless swimsuit, the monokini. He went on to design the first transparent bra (“No Bra”) and even the “Pubikini,” a swimsuit that exposed the pubic region, revealing painted or patterned pubic hair.

Originally, Gernreich had no intention of selling the monokini, instead wanting it to be worn as a political statement rather than a practical garment. Still, he did it, eventually made it available to the public, and — despite heavy criticism and controversy — said he’d do it again in a heartbeat.

One of his most timeless creations: Gernreich is also credited as the inventor of the thong, introducing the first one in 1974 in response to LA’s nudist beach ban.

It’s depressing today that six decades after the heyday of Gernreich’s first work, women’s bodies are still being so policed. While nipples may be a long way from liberation, we can thank Gernreich for petite skirts, as well as his bold and innovative ideas that remain ahead of their time even now.