In its december 1962 issue, sports illustrated declared that rudi gernreich had “turned the dancer’s leotard into a swimsuit that frees the body. When the first photograph of a frontal view of peggy moffitt wearing the design was published in women's wear daily on june 3, 1964, [1] it generated a great deal of controversy in the united states and other countries. Available for sale from fahey/klein gallery, william claxton, peggy moffitt in rudi gernreich, topless swimsuit (1964), archival pigment print, 60 × 40 in A 25 year old peggy moffitt models rudi gernreich's first topless swimsuit design (1), walking in the woods (2) The cape provides a complement to the culotte The cape is a cape, and when a cape is removed moffitt bare a truly topless bikini (3).
See the rudi gernreich book, peggy moffitt and william claxton, rizzoli, 1991, pages 70 and 71 This is a style icon of the modern age and marked a turning point in contemporary fashion and fashion photography.
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