“Neoprene is stylish: When wetsuits meet haute couture”

The development of sports and leisure activities was initially quite misogynistic. Cycling forced the first lady riders to wear long skirts as enticing as the curtains in my grandmother's living room, and swimming only tolerated mermaids wearing shapeless bathing dresses directly inspired by nun fashion.

Fortunately, thanks to emancipatory struggles and athletic performances, lady cyclists can now wear tight technical riding clothes and swimmers have made their way to the tiniest bikinis, every imaginable style of swimsuit being available nowadays .

Diving, spearfishing and freediving have not been left behind. Therefore, since the 1950s, neoprene has experienced its own fashion revolution, going from austere survival equipment to beach or catwalk fashion!

Fasten your weight belts, let's tell you all about it...

 

It all began in 1931, with the invention of neoprene by DuPont.

1950s: all black, “Navy Seal” version

In 1952, the Beuchat brothers began popularizing neoprene, which was an innovation at the time. Lady divers looked more like secret agents than like glamour icons. The wetsuits were thick, black, and shaped like waterproof sleeping bags. There were no feminine designs or colors; still a long way from ready-to-dive.

1960s: Pioneers and the first “Miss Scuba”

Underwater activities get bigger, and  the female clients more numerous. Manufacturers finally produce wetsuits tailored for the female divers. Specialist magazines bounce on the hipe and organize "Miss Scuba" competitions in California: Some sort of oddities mixing James Bond Girls and boat shows. Not yet Chanel, but slowly getting there.

1970s: Colors and Liberation

Cousteau is a bit everywhere on TV screens. Female divers happily discover red, yellow or blue stripes on the suits. Boat shows become mini aquatic Fashion Weeks, with wetsuit parades. The Calypso divers wear silver, and the stars of female oceanography, led by Sylvia Earl, also dive in color. In terms of materials, the Japanese company Yamamoto is established in 1971, years later, it will develop ultra-flexible closed-cell neoprene (a must have among freedivers).

1980s: Neon, Glamour and… Robin Piccone

It's a technicolor explosion: neoprene becomes fluorescent, pink, purple, turquoise, and above all, sexy. Enter Robin Piccone, a genius Californian stylist collaborating with Body Glove. She takes the wetsuit (until now sober and functional) and turns it into a fashion icon:   fitted and daring cuts, neon colours that would make a Stabilo highlighter depressed, visible and assertive zips.         

Her creations seduce surfers, divers... and magazines. For the first time, the wetsuit emerges from the water and enters pop culture. Piccone literally transforms neoprene into a seduction accessory.

1990s: “sport chic” neoprene

Surf brands (Rip Curl, Billabong, O'Neill) take up the torch. The wetsuit becomes a second skin, sometimes even repurposed as streetwear. It also is the golden age of sexy ads in Surfer Magazine, where Piccone wetsuits become cult classics.

2000s: Neoprene plays the diva

Improvements in materials make all sorts of innovations possible: front zip cut, metallic colors, limited editions with geometric, floral, and psychedelic patterns. Ocean-related beauty pageants (like Miss Scuba International, created in 2011 in Malaysia) capture the spirit of the 60s. Oh by the way, we begin producing wetsuits in the 2000s!

2010s to today: between haute couture and Instagram lifestyle

Two worlds coexist:

• Ultra-technical wetsuits for freedivers and deep divers.
• Fashionable wetsuits that flirt with haute couture: independent designers in Bali or California customize wetsuits in genuine “statement pieces.”

On the catwalks, Chanel, Dior and Alexander Wang are using neoprene to create structured dresses.

Let's make it short, the women's wetsuit is no longer just utilitarian, it is also a piece of fashion history.

And what about Trudive? Since 2018 and the official creation of our brand, we've been combining the best of both worlds. We're proud and strong of our know-how and our Asian origins, rooted in the contemporary hotspot of underwater style and Instagram addicts. Give in to temptation; I'll be there to guide you!

Alexandre