How Speedo Became One of Australia's Most Globally Successful Brands
The iconic brand put Australian swimwear on the map – and raised eyebrows along the way.
On your marks
Scottish immigrant Alexander MacRae, a hosiery manufacturer in 1920s Sydney, noticed that attitudes to mixed bathing were relaxing and shifted his Fortitude underwear label to swimwear. He introduced a figure-hugging Racerback style in 1928 that went over the shoulders (thereby keeping the straps on). One of his employee coined the slogan “Speed on in your Speedos” for the launch and the legendary brand was born.
Marketing magic
In 1928, Swedish gold medal swimmer Arne Borg was tapped to promote Speedo swimwear, with his record-breaking performances at the Amsterdam Olympics fuelling sales. Aussie athletes followed, including Clare Dennis, who took gold in Los Angeles in 1932 (her swimmers, which exposed her shoulder blades, were considered controversial). But it wasn’t until 1936, at Berlin, that the Australian mens’ swim team debuted the then daring bare-chested men’s swimming shorts. The brand’s costumes went on to achieve international recognition in 1956 at the Melbourne Olympics when the entire Australian Speedosponsored team swept the board with eight gold medals.
Sluggos, AKA ….
Budgie smugglers, sluggos, lolly bags… whatever local slang you use for the brand’s tight-fitting trunks, their original design was the handiwork of artist Peter Travis. In 1960, he created a version of a Hawaiian swimming short that was popular at the time. They were hoicked above the hips and proved contentious, attracting the ire of Bondi Beach inspector Aub Laidlaw when men began wearing them in the summer of 1961. The furore sparked a shift in attitudes, pushing the boundaries of what was deemed to be acceptable beachwear.
And… wham!
The classic brief was designed with function in mind but the inadvertent sexiness of the figure-hugging trunks created some titillating moments over the years. George Michael, in Wham’s 1983 Club Tropicana video, wore white Speedos, a symbol of gay male fashion by the ’80s. And former Prime Minister Tony Abbott proudly donned his pair repeatedly, saying that if a club swim was on, “boardies were just a drag”.
A shark’s tale
Sluggos have been instrumental in the enduring success of Speedo but since 2000, male and female athletes have been wearing Speedo Fastskin suits. At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, US swimmer Michael Phelps wore the Fastskin LZR to nab his eight gold medals. Every year tweaks are made to improve the style’s flexibility and compression. Speedo turns 95 this year and with sustainability as a focus, its fabrics are being made from recycled materials such as polyester, plastic bottles and ocean waste, including disused fishing nets. Its aim is to be using 100 per cent eco-friendly fabric by 2030 (27,000 metres of unwanted fabric has already been saved from landfill). Not bad for a brand that started out making underwear.
Image credit: Courtesy Speedo & Powerhouse Archives
