Bikinis, Speedo briefs, that Baywatch bathing suit in showcase of swimwear and swimming

London’s Design Museum explores a century of swimming in show featuring bikinis, Baywatch red swimsuit, 1980s Speedos and Tom Daley’s trunks

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Guest curator Amber Butchart adjusts a swimsuit on display in Splash! A century of Swimming and Style, an exhibition of swimwear and swim-related items at The Design Museum in London. Photo: AP

Published: 2:45pm, 30 Mar 2025

A new exhibition dedicated to all things swimming has opened at London’s Design Museum. It features everything from an Olympic gold medal to the red bathing suit Pamela Anderson wore in Baywatch.

“Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style” features more than 200 items that look at our love of water since the 1920s, be it at the lido, the pool or in nature.

“The show explores the last century of swimming through the lens of design,” Amber Butchart, guest curator of the exhibition, said.

“We begin in the pool, we move into lidos, and then we end in nature and each of those sections allows us to explore different themes, whether it is materials and making, whether it is the … evolution of swimwear as a fashion object, or whether it is swimming in outdoor spaces and the architecture that allows access for that.”

Swimsuits on display at the exhibition, which looks at swimwear and swimming through the decades. Photo: Reuters

The red bathing suit Pamela Anderson wore in Baywatch on display at the exhibition. Photo: Reuters

A variety of colourful swimwear from various decades takes centre stage, including a 1950s bikini and a selection of 1980s Speedo briefs alongside an edition of the famed red suit Anderson wore to play lifeguard CJ Parker in Baywatch in the 1990s.