Perth, Australia's Sunday Times had a great piece about Gloria Smythe, the "queen of the design pool," who worked for 29 years for Speedo. In the article, she talks about how she designed the iconic swimwear.
A few of the quotes from the article:
"I really fell into fashion design. I was going to teach art in high school, but life turned out to be far more exciting in fashion."
"I studied at the London School of Fashion and joined Horrockses Fashions as an assistant and patternmaker to head designer John Tullis. I worked there from 1952 to 1956 and we made dresses for the Queen’s tour of Australia and Nigeria and casual clothes for the royal family to wear while at home. Some of my designs were photographed in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar."
"I think it is quite funny all the fuss that has been created over those two inch (5cm) trunks. All the different names, like "budgie smugglers", and the furor over Peter Debnam wearing them makes me laugh. It took quite a while before I was allowed to do anything that skimpy. It wasn’t until 1972 that they were allowed."
"Before I started at Speedo, the men at the 1960 Rome Olympics swam in trunks with an eight inch (20cm) side and full front skirt. The 1964 Olympics in Tokyo was the first time men were allowed to go skirtless. After that I continued to take half an inch (1.3cm) off the top and half an inch off the leg at every games until we got it down to two inches in 1972."
"I worked at Speedo for 29 years. Now the designs I created are held in the Powerhouse Museum, The Maritime Museum and the Manly Art Gallery and Museum. I am proud my two inch trunks have become an Australian icon."
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