Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style Opens at London's Design Museum

The Design Museum in London opened 'Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style' on March 28, 2025, running until August 17, 2025. Curated by Amber Butchart, the exhibition explores the relationship between swimming and design over the past century, covering sport, objects, architecture, and fashion. It is divided into three sections—pool, lido, and nature—following a chronological arc from the 1920s to today. Over 200 objects trace the evolution of swimming across social, cultural, technological, and environmental contexts. Highlights include Pamela Anderson's Baywatch swimsuit, a selection of 1980s Speedo men's swimsuits, the LZR Racer suit banned for 'technical doping,' and an early bikini. Other treasures include Lucy Morton's first solo Olympic gold medal in swimming and an architectural model of Zaha Hadid's London 2012 Aquatics Centre. A photographic selection features works by Slovak photographer Mária Švarbová, depicting swimmers in former USSR pools.