Jantzen is a brand of swimwear that was established in 1916 and first appeared in the city of
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, United States. The brand name later replaced the name of the parent company that manufactured the branded products. The brand featured a logo image of a young woman, dressed in a red one-piece swimsuit and bathing hat, assuming a diving posture with outstretched arms and an arched back. Known as the Jantzen "Diving Girl", the image in various forms became famous throughout the world during the early twentieth century.
History
Origin
Carl C. Jantzen and brothers John A. Zehntbauer and C. Roy Zehntbauer founded the Portland Knitting Company, the predecessor of Jantzen Inc., in January 1910, in Portland, Oregon.
It was a small knitting concern located in downtown Portland, and they produced sweaters, woolen hosiery and other knitted goods in the upstairs space, and sold them in the retail outlet downstairs. Carl Jantzen died from a heart attack on May 30, 1939 while passing through Sherman Hill, Idaho returning from a round-the-world tour.
Designs
The founders were members of the Portland Rowing Club, and in 1913, the company was asked to provide a
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
suit for use in the chilly mornings on the
Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
.
The story, as told by Zehntbauer in the company paper, the ''Jantzen Yarns'':
The one-piece garment of
pure wool that Carl Jantzen designed eventually became the prototype for the rib-stitch
swimsuit
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or List of water sports, water sports, such as swimming, Diving (sport), diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Di ...
s that were first produced in 1915.
Brand name
Following World War I, a national advertising campaign was launched with advertisements illustrating Jantzen suits placed in
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
and the old
Life Magazine
''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
. Jantzen was a leader in promotion of its new product. The cover of the advertisements featured the "Red Diving Girl", which became adopted as the logo of the company and recognizable worldwide.
Garment description
It was around this time that the company started to promote the idea of the swimsuit, as opposed to the bathing suit, and the tag-line "The Suit That Changed Bathing to Swimming":
Logo
Jantzen's Diving Girl was designed by Frank and Florenz Clark. She first made her appearance in advertisements in 1920, wearing a daring red suit, stocking cap and stockings, and first appeared on Jantzen
swimming suits in 1923. Over the years, the stockings and stocking cap were dropped, and in the late 1940s, the suit became strapless. The whole design was modernized again in the 1980s. The Diving Girl remains a recognized international brand and is one of the longest lived
apparel
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
icons.
Development
During the inter-war years of the late 1920s and early 1930s the company established overseas manufacturing facilities and sales teams, notably in Europe. By 1932, Jantzen was reportedly the seventh most known trademark in the world.
In the 1940s, business perked up after Jantzen added sweaters,
girdle
A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts.
Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...
s and
activewear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
Typical sport-specific garments ...
to its basic swimwear line. The
bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...
was introduced in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1946 to set the style for brevity in swimwear and became a worldwide
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
classic.
In the 1950s, fashion designer
Maurice Levin popularized the trend of the color pink worn on men through the Jantzen brand.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jantzen recognized that working women wanted attractive beachwear for weekends and vacations. In some resort areas, swim separates, cover-ups, and ankle-length beach skirts completed many swimsuit ensembles. Jantzen began to work with nylon and spandex to add stretch that holds shape. Jantzen also introduced a Trikini, combining a string bikini worn underneath a lacy, semi-transparent maillot.
Ownership and portfolio changes
In 1980, Jantzen was purchased by
Blue Bell, and Blue Bell was acquired by
Vanity Fair Corporation in 1986. This acquisition was a disaster for Jantzen and led to its demise. In 1995, the company dropped the production of menswear to concentrate on women's apparel, returning to its roots in swimsuits. In 2002, the Jantzen trademark was purchased by
Perry Ellis International, Inc.
In 2019, Perry Ellis International, Inc. sold the Jantzen brand to Jantzen Brands Corporation.
See also
*
List of companies based in Oregon
This is a list of companies based in Oregon. Oregon is the ninth largest by area and the 27th most populous of the 50 United States. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Oregon in 2010 was $168.6 billion; it is the United States's 26th wealthies ...
*
Jantzen Beach Amusement Park
*
List of swimwear brands
This is a list of notable swimwear
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Di ...
References
{{reflist
External links
A Brief History of Jantzenfrom Jantzen.com (as archived 2011)
Jantzen Through the Decadesfrom Janzten.com
Jantzen Red Diving Girl– Oregon History Project
Swimwear manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Portland, Oregon
Perry Ellis International brands
American companies established in 1910
1910 establishments in Oregon