Introduction to the Tanga
Two narrow belts that sit directly above the hip bone and cut their edges into sunbound meat: the tanga. Nowadays, thanks to the revival of fashion from the 2000s, it seems to be everywhere: to get out of low jeans, to shimmer under transparent beach dresses or to unveil them on the beach. But what many people may not know about the Tanga swimsuit is that its creation was political – and its creator was a gay man.
The Creator of the Tanga
The designer Rudi Gernreich, born in Austria, poses with two models that present his creations. Rudi Gernreich, a designer born in Austria who lived in LA, rebelled against the ban by creating a small piece of fabric for all genders that covered only the necessary minimum. The designer was not interested in the sexualization of bodies. On the contrary: he wanted to free them.
The Summer of Nude Bathing
July 1974: Los Angeles’ Last Summer of Nude Bathing
In the summer of 1974, Venice Beach became a sea of mere ground. Nobody knows exactly how the famous beach in Los Angeles became a popular place for naturalists, but hippies populated the nudist madness, and used the fact that there was still no explicit ban on nudity. But the naked summer dream didn’t last long: first came the press, then the police. After the nudity, Los Angeles immediately made her overall.
The Connection to the Tanga
What does that have to do with the tanga? Rudi Gernreich rebelled against the ban by creating a small piece of fabric for all genders that covered only the necessary minimum. "The liberation of the body will heal the society of his sexual hanging," said Gernreich.
Rudi Gernreich’s Life and Career
Gernreich was born on August 8, 1922, in a Jewish family in Vienna. He was 16 when he fled his mother out of Nazis in 1938, and they settled in Los Angeles. His father had taken his own life shortly before. In order to survive, his mother baked goods sold from door to door and the young Rudi washed corpses that were to be autopsy. Gernreich’s actual studies were in art; He worked as a costume designer and dancer. His designs often show his fascination with the body.
Gernreich’s Vision for Fashion
Gernreich was ahead of his time. While homosexuality was still a crime in the United States, he was a co-founder of the Mattachine Society, one of the first organizations for LGBTQ+ rights in the USA. For Gernreich, the future of fashion was unisex, and it promoted strange styles long before they became an established concept. "Clothing is neither identified as male nor female … women and men carry synonym. The aesthetics of fashion will include the body itself," he predicted in the 1970s.
The Monokini
Freeing the Nipple
In 1964, Gernreich presented a design that was the first topless swimsuit for women in history: The Monokini. The provocative piece that covered the floor to the middle part contained two carriers in which the breasts were completely exposed. Gernreich believed that women are allowed to show their nipples as well as men, and above all that they should be those who call the shots when it comes to their clothes. "I don’t like to dictate women what to wear," he said in an interview in 1966.
Legacy of Rudi Gernreich
The designer, who died in 1985, is still a pioneer of body positivity, and his legacy marks how little the surroundings of the supply has changed – as Instagram censored pictures of female nipples today and society is still sexualized. Gernreich’s designs were intended for all sexes, and he was a true visionary in the fashion world.
