The bikini owes its name to an atoll in the Marshall Islands, a nuclear test site in the 1940s, as if to emphasize its explosive effect. Like an overly hot wash, time and social changes have had a shrinking effect on the two-piece bathing suit: from bikinis with a high waist, to triangle swimsuits with ties or even a Brazilian cut. Quite the contrary, its disruptive character seems to withstand even the hottest washes.