The sling swimsuit is a

one-piece swimsuit A one-piece swimsuit most commonly refers to swimwear worn primarily by women and girls when swimming in the sea or in a swimming pool, playing water polo, or for any activity in the sun, such as sun bathing. Today, the one-piece swimsuit is usua ...

which is supported by fabric at the neck. Sling swimsuits provide as little coverage (or as much exposure) as, or even less than, a

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

Monokini The monokini (also known as a "topless bikini" or "unikini") was designed by Rudi Gernreich in 1964, consisting of only a brief, close-fitting bottom and two thin straps; it was the first women's Toplessness#Topless swimwear, topless swimsuit. ...

types also exist. The sling swimsuit is also known by a variety of names including "suspender bikini", "

sling bikini Many stylistic variations of the bikini have been created. A regular bikini is a two-piece swimsuit that together covers the wearer's crotch, buttocks, and breasts. Some bikini designs cover larger portions of the wearer's body while other desi ...

", "slingkini", "suspender thong", "slingshot swimsuit" or just "slingshot". It is so named because of its resemblance to the Y-shape frame of a

slingshot A slingshot or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two tubes or strips made from either a natural rubber or synthetic elastic material. These are attached to the upper two ends ...

. It is sometimes listed as a

bikini variant Many stylistic variations of the bikini have been created. A regular bikini is a two-piece swimsuit that together covers the wearer's crotch, buttocks, and breasts. Some bikini designs cover larger portions of the wearer's body while other desi ...

. When designed for or worn by a man, it is often called a "mankini".

Design

Usually, a sling swimsuit comprises a bikini bottom of any style, with side straps extending upwards to cover the breasts, then going over the shoulders and behind the neck or extending down the back. The sling swimsuit leaves the sides of the torso uncovered, while covering the nipples and pubic area. Behind the neck, the straps may join and reach down the back to the buttocks

thong The thong is a Clothing, garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional Ceremony, ceremonies or Sport, competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a b ...

or string style.Jenny Pate
History of the swimsuit
, Article Dashboard The variation of sling swimsuits is a , which has the straps behind the neck and another set of straps around the midriff, instead of straps down the back. Even more "risqué"

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an designs include the bodyform-suspender (by German manufacturer Nixxxe) and other open bust and/or crotchless variants such as the "peekaboo" slingshot (by Spanish manufacturer the-Bikinis) and "ouvert" sling bikini (by German manufacturer Tangaland). The Mankini

A sling swimsuit worn by men is often called a . It was popularized by

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

, who donned one in the 2006 film ''

Borat ''Borat'' (also known as ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'') is a 2006 mockumentary directed by Larry Charles, which stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhs, Kazakh jou ...

''. The publicity around the film started building during the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in May 2006, when Baron Cohen posed in character on the beach in a fluorescent green mankini, alongside four models. A

garden gnome Garden gnomes () are lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creatures based on the mythological creature and diminutive spirit which occur in Renaissance magic and alchemy, known as gnomes. They also draw on the German folklore of the Dwarf ...

in the 2011 film ''

Gnomeo and Juliet ''Gnomeo & Juliet'' is a 2011 animated romantic comedy film directed by Kelly Asbury from a screenplay by Rob Sprackling and John Smith. It is loosely based on the play ''Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare and features the voices of James ...

'' was also shown wearing a mankini, which gets referred to as a Borat-Mankini by newspapers.

History

Corresponding to the introduction of

Lycra Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity (physics), elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont. Name The name ''spandex'', which ...

into swimwear, sling swimsuits emerged in the early 1990s. They are more popular on some beaches of Europe, including

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. At the 2021 census, there were 10,704 inhabitants, most of ...

and

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

. Suspender-like straps running between the breasts and around the neck that held the suit up were introduced in the mainstream in 1994. News reports said that within a week of putting the suit on their racks,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

's major stores had sold 150. By season's end, the tally sold was over 3000, at a cost of $24 a suit. After wearing a mankini for a fancy dress competition at a showjumping event in February 2024,

Shane Rose Shane Rose (born 24 April 1973 in Sydney) is an Australian equestrian. A three-time Olympic medallist, he started riding at the age of five at the Forest Hills Pony Club. Rose lived with his parents and three siblings in Duffys Forest, New Sou ...

was stood down by

Equestrian Australia Equestrian Australia (EA) is the national governing body for equestrian sports in Australia. These sports include the FEI-recognized disciplines of dressage, eventing, show jumping, equestrian vaulting, endurance riding, reining, para-equest ...

; a subsequent review of the incident cleared Rose, after concluding he had not broken Equestrian Australia's code of conduct.

References

External links

* {{Clothing Swimsuits History of clothing (Western fashion) One-piece suits de:Bikini#Mankini