Anne Cole is an American swimwear brand most known for the invention of the

tankini The tankini is a bathing suit combining a tank top, mostly made of spandex-and-cotton or Lycra-and-nylon, and a bikini bottom introduced in the late 1990s.Alisha Davis,It Rhymes With Bikini, ''Newsweek'', 1998-05-04 This type of swimwear is consi ...

, a type of swimsuit. The brand's namesake founder, Anne Cole (1926-2017), invented the tankini. The swimwear company was originally a division within

Cole of California Cole of California is a swimwear brand, known for innovations in fashionable swimwear Early history and swimwear Established in 1917 by F.L and Joseph Drane in Vernon, California, West Coast Knitting Mills made men's long knitted underwear and soc ...

, a knitwear company founded by Cole's father, Fred Cole. Anne Cole began to work for Cole of California in sales and marketing in 1951. During that era, the brand attracted celebrities such as

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

, and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. In 1982, after decades of designing women's swimsuits, Anne Cole created her own eponymous swimwear brand, Anne Cole Swimwear. Anne Cole designed several swimsuits for the Cole of California and Anne Cole Swimwear brand, including the “Scandal Suit,” a one-piece swimsuit with mesh inserts that became the first swimsuit to break $1 million in sales in 1964. Anne Cole also created the camisole "camkini" and the strapless "bandeaukini" swimsuit. Anne Cole expanded into ladies’ activewear in 2021 with Anne Cole Active. InMocean currently owns Anne Cole Swimwear.

References

Swimwear brands American brands Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-company-stub