V&A’s latest exhibit ... the original budgie smugglers that launched Speedo
IT caused outrage when unveiled in the 1920s – and the close-fitting swimwear designed by a Scot was even banned from some beaches.
Now, almost a century later, the first Speedo swimsuit is to go on display.
The controversial costume designed by Alexander MacRae will feature in the inaugural exhibition at the new V&A museum in Dundee in September.
Before the Speedo revolution, swimwear had been baggy and made of wool, with sleeves to protect the wearer’s modesty.
But the new Speedo Racerback was made of tight-fitting cotton or silk, which absorbed less water, and had straps that crossed at the back, showing most of the shoulders.
The radical hydrodynamic design, featuring the distinctive Speedo boomerang logo, allowed swimmers more freedom of movement and reduced drag, soon becoming a favourite of Olympic record-breakers.
The original costume may look like ladieswear but was in fact designed for men, years before Speedo became synonymous with small Lycra trunks.
Its inventor, born in 1888, grew up in a small fishing village near Loch Kishorn in the West Highlands, before moving to Sydney in 1910 and founding MacRae Knitting Mills, which supplied the Australian army with socks during the First World War. Meredith More, V&A Dundee assistant curator, said: ‘Capitalising on Australia’s growing beach culture, MacRae created a ground-breaking swimsuit. The Racerback’s revealing back straps challenged moral codes in the 1920s, when mixed bathing was only just acceptable, but nobody could deny his hydrodynamic design allowed swimmers to achieve faster times.’ Speedo later began making suits for women and in 1932 Australian Claire Dennis caused controversy at the Los Angeles Olympics because her Speedo suit ‘showed too much shoulder’. In recent years the brand has been showcased by supermodels such as Yasmin Le Bon.