For more than four seasons, she played CJ Parker in the Baywatch series. Californian tan, platinum mane and alluring curves, Pamela Anderson treads the beach in slow motion, ready to save swimmers from drowning. All this dressed in a one-piece red swimsuit, cut to perfection, which will soon become as emblematic as the actress at the time. Decades later, the famous scarlet piece continues to be one of the most memorable accessories seen in films or series, like the newsboy in Peaky Blinders, the little black dress in Diamonds on the sofa or even retro glasses. -futurists in Matrix. However, according to the creators of Baywatch, the success of the famous swimsuit was completely unexpected. “We never intentionally tried to be sexy. It was all about athleticism and functionality,” explained Michael Berk in the columns of the New York Times in 2019. Comments joined by Greg Bonann, the second creator of the series , who said he wanted to design a “real and practical” swimsuit.
Difficult to really determine the degree of practicality of a low-cut jersey from the groin to the ribs, but we will take their explanations at face value. Michael Berk and Greg Bonann, convinced to capture the dramatic tension of a rescue in the slow motion of the credits, were also surprised to see how much the latter exhilarated the public more than anything else. “When we did our original music video that we did to sell Baywatch, we were filming the lifeguards sprinting to the rescue in slow motion to increase the tension (…) And all of a sudden it became this very sexy thing” . Clearly, nothing went as planned!
Pamela Anderson: what happened to her famous swimsuit?
One thing is certain: the years pass and the red one-piece never passes away! Eternal source of inspiration, it is constantly revisited by brands and stars, guaranteeing a bright future! Even its owner, Pamela Anderson, occasionally brings out the original piece as she confided to the New York Times in 2019. Indeed, the latter admitted that she sometimes wears it to impress her conquests. “I jump in the shower with the bathing suit on, then after I jump on them, no matter where they are in the house, all soaked,” she revealed.
Pamela Anderson © NIZON-GRIFFIN
