# Monokini
The **monokini** is a swimsuit whose name has covered two distinct garments: the topless bathing suit introduced by the Austrian-born American designer Rudi Gernreich in 1964, consisting of a bikini bottom with two thin straps and no top, and, in later retail usage, a [one-piece swimsuit](https://www.edgepedia.org/one-piece-swimsuit) with cutouts that visually imitates a two-piece.[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) • [2](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=monokini) The word was coined in the 1960s from *mono-* "one" plus a shortened form of *bikini*, whose first syllable was misinterpreted as *bi-* "two".[3](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/monokini)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original design | Topless bathing suit of 1964: a brief bottom with two thin straps, named by Gernreich in contrast to the two-piece bikini[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) • [4](https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_375145) |
| Designer | Rudi Gernreich (August 8, 1922 – April 21, 1985), American, born in Vienna[5](https://emuseum.mfah.org/people/6116/visit) |
| First publication | Photograph in *Women's Wear Daily*, June 3, 1964, modeled by Peggy Moffitt[6](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1922-1985-rudi-gernreich/) |
| Construction | Black and taupe striped wool jersey; the bottom was conservative in coverage and made in wool like Victorian bathing apparel[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) • [7](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/81814?searchField=All) |
| Reported sales | 3,000 units at $24 each[8](https://dollhousebikinis.com/blogs/news/bikini-vs-monokini-key-differences-explained) |
| Stated purpose | A statement on women's liberation and a step toward desexualizing the breast[4](https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_375145) |
| Modern meaning | A one-piece swimsuit with cutouts at the waist, sides, or torso that reads as a bikini from a distance[8](https://dollhousebikinis.com/blogs/news/bikini-vs-monokini-key-differences-explained) |
## The 1964 design
Rudi Gernreich, a designer who had worked with the body since the early 1960s, introduced the topless bathing suit in 1964 and named it the "monokini" in contrast to the bikini, the two-piece swimsuit then in fashion.[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) The garment consisted of a brief, close-fitting bottom supported by two thin straps joined at the center front and back, ending below the bust; the upper torso was left bare.[4](https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_375145) • [9](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-bikini)
The first published image of the breast-baring design appeared in *Women's Wear Daily* on June 3, 1964, modeled by Peggy Moffitt, Gernreich's lifelong friend and muse.[6](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1922-1985-rudi-gernreich/) According to a scholarly account of the suit's provenance, the idea originated after Gernreich made a provocative public statement about topless swimwear; Susanne Kirtland, a fashion writer at *Look* magazine, then asked him to design such a suit for a feature on "futurist fashion".[10](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14759756.2016.1142766)
The suit's bottom was deliberately conservative. The [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/metropolitan-museum-of-art) describes the paradox: ample coverage, made in the same wool material used for Victorian bathing apparel, so that the avant-garde gesture sat on top of a traditional garment.[7](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/81814?searchField=All) A surviving example in the Kyoto Costume Institute is black and taupe striped wool jersey produced under the label Rudi Gernreich Design for Harmon Knitwear.[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228)
## Reception and intent
The monokini made headlines and scandalized much of the fashion world and the general public.[11](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157797) The design caused worldwide outrage to the point that it was banned by the Pope, denounced by a Soviet newspaper, and prohibited on the [French Riviera](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-riviera).[6](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1922-1985-rudi-gernreich/)
Gernreich framed the suit politically rather than commercially. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History records that he intended it as a statement on women's liberation and a step toward desexualizing breasts; he and Moffitt declined to collaborate with magazines such as *Playboy*. Moffitt later defended the *Women's Wear Daily* photograph, arguing that once the breast was uncovered it ceased to function as a sex symbol in advertising.[4](https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_375145) Gernreich predicted that within five years women would be free to go topless, a timeline the museum notes proved too short.[4](https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_375145) The Jewish Museum's audio guide records Gernreich describing the monokini as representing "freedom, in fashion as well as every other facet of life".[12](https://thejewishmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/NY_1962_1964_Audioguide_Transcript-1.pdf)
Despite the controversy, the suit reached the market: the original 1964 monokini reportedly sold 3,000 units at $24 each.[8](https://dollhousebikinis.com/blogs/news/bikini-vs-monokini-key-differences-explained) The years between the monokini's introduction in 1964 and the closure of Gernreich's brand in 1968 were his most prolific.[6](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1922-1985-rudi-gernreich/)
## Gernreich's related designs
The monokini sat within a series of body-oriented designs Gernreich released in succession. In 1965 he introduced the "No-Bra", a thin skin-colored nylon brassiere.[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) In 1970 he introduced unisex fashion, which eliminated gender differences in clothing.[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) Later designs included the thong bathing suit and, in 1985, the "pubikini", a sheer black bikini brief meant to display a model's neon green-dyed pubic hair.[11](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157797) • [6](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1922-1985-rudi-gernreich/) The Smithsonian also holds a topless evening dress Gernreich designed as a reinterpretation of the monokini.[13](https://www.si.edu/object/monokini-evening-dress%3Anmah_375130)
## Modern usage
Dictionaries record both senses of the word. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the monokini first as a close-fitting one-piece swimsuit with cutouts on the front, back, and sides of the torso, and second as a topless swimsuit consisting of a brief bottom.[2](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=monokini) Oxford Learner's Dictionaries define it as beach clothing consisting of the bottom half of a bikini.[3](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/monokini)
In contemporary retail, the term has shifted toward the cutout one-piece. Swimwear sellers describe the modern monokini as a single continuous garment connected by fabric panels, mesh inserts, or straps, with cutouts at the waist, sides, or torso that give the visual impression of a two-piece while keeping the suit structurally intact.[8](https://dollhousebikinis.com/blogs/news/bikini-vs-monokini-key-differences-explained) The original topless design remains the reference point: the garment's 1964 debut is cited in swimwear history as the moment a bathing suit was designed to make a social statement about the body itself.[1](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228) • [14](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2025-05-12/el-traje-de-bano-es-un-espejo-de-la-sociedad-como-esta-pequena-prenda-refleja-cuestiones-de-genero-clase-o-moda.html)
## References
1. [Swimsuit, 1964, Rudi Gernreich Design for Harmon Knitwear, KCI Digital Archives, The Kyoto Costume Institute](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1960s/KCI_228)
2. [monokini, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=monokini)
3. [monokini noun, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/monokini)
4. [monokini, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution](https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_375145)
5. [Rudi Gernreich, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston collections](https://emuseum.mfah.org/people/6116/visit)
6. [1922–1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Fashion History Timeline, Fashion Institute of Technology](https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1922-1985-rudi-gernreich/)
7. [Bathing suit, Rudi Gernreich, 1964, The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/81814?searchField=All)
8. [Bikini vs Monokini: Key Differences Explained, Doll House Bikinis](https://dollhousebikinis.com/blogs/news/bikini-vs-monokini-key-differences-explained)
9. [The Bikini, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-bikini)
10. [Rudi Gernreich and the Art of Bad Timing, TEXTILE Vol. 14 No. 1](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14759756.2016.1142766)
11. [Bathing suit, Rudi Gernreich, ca. 1964, The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157797)
12. [New York 1962–1964 audio guide transcript, The Jewish Museum](https://thejewishmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/NY_1962_1964_Audioguide_Transcript-1.pdf)
13. [monokini, evening dress, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution](https://www.si.edu/object/monokini-evening-dress%3Anmah_375130)
14. ["El traje de baño es un espejo de la sociedad", S Moda, El País](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2025-05-12/el-traje-de-bano-es-un-espejo-de-la-sociedad-como-esta-pequena-prenda-refleja-cuestiones-de-genero-clase-o-moda.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Clothing, textiles, and domestic crafts › Dress and clothing of the world › Garments, fabrics, and clothing terminology › Garment types and parts › Swimwear and special-purpose garments*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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