Pamela's iconic 'Baywatch' swimming costume makes a splash at new exhibit
Seen by over a billion people a week at the show’s peak in the 1990s, the costume helped define the look and style of the era. This iconic piece is the centrepiece of "Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style", a new exhibit at the Design Museum in London
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Seen by over a billion people a week at the show’s peak in the 1990s, the costume helped define the look and style of the era. This iconic piece is the centrepiece of "Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style", a new exhibit at the Design Museum in London
READ MORE : http://www.africanews.com/2025/04/01/pamelas-iconic-baywatch-swimming-costume-makes-a-splash-at-new-exhibit
Subscribe on our Dailymotion channel and receive all the latest news from the continent.
Africanews is available in English and French.
Website : www.africanews.com
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/africanews.channel/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/africanews
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NewsTranscript
00:00One of the most famous swimsuits in television history is now on display at the London's
00:09Design Museum.
00:11This is the bright red one-piece worn by Pamela Anderson in Baywatch.
00:16Seen by over a billion people a week at the show's peak in the 1990s, the costume helped
00:22define the look and style of the era.
00:27The high-cut silhouette, deep red color and glossy finish made the suit instantly recognizable.
00:35This is Splash!
00:36A Century of Swimming in Style and we are exploring the last 100 years of swimming through
00:42the lens of design.
00:44So thinking about fashion, thinking about architecture, thinking about performance design,
00:49materials and making, all of these kinds of areas.
00:52The show itself is divided into three sections in which we swim.
00:56So we begin in the pool, we then move into the Lido where we are now and we finish in
01:01nature.
01:02At the heart of the exhibit is the Anderson swimsuit both for its fame and for what it
01:08represents in terms of bodies, beauty standards and performance on screen.
01:14Through those sections we think about different themes whether it is leisure, the sort of
01:20democratization of travel, entertainment, things like Pamela Anderson's swimsuit, swimming
01:25on screen, through to themes like materials and making, health and well-being, so these
01:31kind of social history strands as well.
01:34The suits highlight the moment when swimming became as much about leisure and travel as
01:39it was about sport.
01:41Also on show is a bikini from Kenya using a pattern inspired by Ghana's kente cloth.
01:47To Splash!
01:48I did know that it was going to be about swimwear and obviously the Pamela Anderson swimsuit
01:52has been getting a lot of press attention.
01:54But I didn't realize that there would be a lot more to it than just the fashion elements.
01:58So for example it talks about the politicization of swimming pools.
02:04Another focus of the exhibit is how swimming styles are gendered and how the history of
02:09men's swimwear has often been overlooked.