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To offset the decline of movie ticket sales with the advent of
television, MGM chose United States swimming champion Esther Williams to
perform in a musical Million Dollar Mermaid directed by Mervyn
LeRoy with choreography by the famed Busby Berkeley. In this movie,
Williams wore a bathing suit of chain mail composed of 50,000 gold flakes,
from a height of fifty feet into a mass of swimmers. Helen Rose, the
picture's costume designer was challenged in rendering the costume until she
discovered a latex net which was attractive, swimable and would not drag the
picture's star to the bottom of the pool.
Esther Williams became a precursor of swimsuit fashion
change as female consumers clamored for copies of the sparkling, skin-tight,
beaded suits. Sensing a commercial opportunity, in 1947 Williams signed a
modeling contract with Cole of California which also included an annual
swimsuit design named for Esther Williams.
While Hollywood struggled, the apparel industry was
expanding to California, especially Los Angeles, which became known for
sports and beach wear. The growth of this industry drew from historic
precedents, as early as 1912 local manufacturer Catalina Swimwear pioneered
women's knitted swimsuits. By the 1930s the company had introduced the
printed Lastex suit.
After World War II, Southern California fashion wholesalers
gained better manufacturing techniques through new technology to produce
swimsuit designs with supple, elasticized contouring and engineered boning.
The snug fitting suits, however, required the use of fabrics which were
lightweight, had recoverable elasticity and possessed dye retention and
tensile qualities in the most adverse environments. Initially, rayon fiber
was used. First manufactured in 1889 from the extract of the mulberry leaf;
it was introduced into the United States in 1910 as artificial silk.
Subsequently, American Rubber's Lastex, an extruded rubber surrounded by
fiber, became a popular staple, despite its failure to retain color and
design when stretched, or to retain its flex life when exposed to body oils.
Although nylon hosiery was introduced as early as 1940, it was not until
after World War II that nylon, one of the most elastic fibers available, was
utilized in the swim suit industry.
In the following decades research scientists produced a
variety of man-made textile filaments, including Dacron, Orlon, Lycra and
Spandex, which alone or blended would revolutionize swim suit manufacture.
The favorable convergence of many factors resulted in a year-round, four
season cycle of bathing suit production in Southern California. The booming
bathing suit business was enhanced by such Hollywood inspired promotions as
lavish style shows and celebrity appearance. Swim suit manufacturing ranks
top in the United States and second in the world.
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