<P> The minimalist bikini design became common in most Western countries by the mid-1960s as both swimwear and underwear . By the late 20th century it was widely used as sportswear in beach volleyball and bodybuilding . There are a number of modern stylistic variations of the design used for marketing purposes and as industry classifications, including monokini, microkini, tankini, trikini, pubikini, and skirtini . A man's single - piece brief swimsuit may also be referred to as a bikini . Similarly, a variety of men's and women's underwear types are described as bikini underwear . </P> <P> The bikini has gradually grown to gain wide acceptance in Western society . By the early 2000s, bikinis had become a US $811 million business annually, and boosted spin - off services such as bikini waxing and sun tanning . </P> <P> While the two - piece swimsuit as a design existed in classical antiquity, the modern design first attracted public notice in Paris on July 5, 1946 . French automotive engineer Louis Réard introduced a design he named the "bikini", adopting the name from the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, which was the colonial name the Germans gave to the atoll, transliterated from the Marshallese name for the island, Pikinni . </P> <P> Four days earlier, the United States had initiated its first peace - time nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll as part of Operation Crossroads . Réard hoped his swimsuit's revealing style would create an "explosive commercial and cultural reaction" similar to the explosion at Bikini Atoll . </P>

Who coined the phrase bikini for the two piece swimsuit design in 1946