The first Olympic solo swimming gold medal won by a British woman, a pair of Tom Daley’s Speedos and Pamela Anderson’s iconic red bathing suit are among star items in a major new exhibition on swimming.

Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style, at London’s Design Museum, examines our enduring love of water over the past 100 years: from Britain’s lido boom during the early 20th century, to the viral Mermaidcore trend of the 2020s.

The exhibition’s story begins in the 1920s, when swimwear began to be marketed for swimming rather than the Victorian’s preference for bathing. It explores up to the present day and swimming’s role in modern life, such as how it influences and subverts ideas of body autonomy and agency, as well as its link to environmental issues.

Other rare exhibits include the banned ‘technical doping’ LZR Racer swimsuit, one of the earliest surviving examples of a bikini and a detailed architectural model of the Zaha Hadid-designed London 2012 Aquatics Centre. In total over 200 objects feature across three sections - the pool, the lido and nature - collectively exploring swimming’s evolution in its social, cultural, technological and environmental contexts.

Splash! is guest-curated by Amber Butchart, a dress and design historian and broadcaster known for her history segments on BBC One’s The Great British Sewing Bee.

She said: "I live in Margate and I grew up in a seaside town. As a fashion historian, understanding our relationship with water through design and clothing has always been at the heart of my work, so it's a delight to bring this exhibition to the Design Museum.

"The history of swimwear and swimming is fascinating as it mirrors wider changes in society over the past century, whether that’s around issues of bodily autonomy and agency, or how we spend our leisure time.

"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."

Tim Marlow, director of the Design Museum, said: “The story of swimming is more than just a story of sport, as our new exhibition makes abundantly clear.

"By examining the culture of swimming through the lens of design, we explore a range of evolving ideas about the way we have lived from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, from materials and making to leisure, travel, performance, wellbeing and the environment.

"It’s another innovative exhibition that shows visitors to the Design Museum the profound impact of design in almost every aspect of our lives.”

Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style runs at the Design Museum in London until 17 August 2025.