Pamela Anderson enshrined in swimming history with ‘Baywatch’ costume

The ‘Last Showgirl’ star’s iconic look is being memorialized in fashion history.
Pamela Anderson with her son at the Canadien Football League 2005 Grey Cup championship at BC Place Stadium.
Pamela Anderson with her son at the Canadien Football League 2005 Grey Cup championship at BC Place Stadium. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

When Pamela Anderson auditioned for the role of C.J. Parker in Baywatch in the 90’s, she probably didn’t imagine that the role would give her a place in the history of swimming itself. But now that the London Design Museum is debuting a new exhibit called “Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style”, the famous red one-piece will be available for British fans to view. 

According to The Guardian, the exhibit “explores swimming’s evolution in its social, cultural, technological and environmental contexts over the past 100 years – from Britain’s lido boom during the early 20th century to the viral Mermaidcore trend of the 2020s.”

Anderson, 57, who has recently received her first ever Golden Globe nomination for The Last Showgirl, was a beloved character on Baywatch. The series, which followed a group of lifeguards, drew an estimated 1.1 billion viewers each week, clearly earning its place among other swimming artifacts like the first Olympic solo swimming gold medal won by a British woman, the first bikini, and swimwear dating back to the 1920s.

The red suit had already been immortalized in one museum, the BikiniARTmuseum in Germany, but this will be its first showing in London. Dress and design historian Amber Butchart told The Guardian, “It’s incredible to be showing Pamela Anderson’s iconic Baywatch swimsuit in the exhibition, especially at this pivotal point when she has reclaimed her own image, and has designed and modelled her own swimwear.”

Dec. 8

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