A bikini or two-piece is a type of women's swimsuit, characterized by two separate parts — one covering the breasts the other the groin (and optionally the buttocks), leaving an uncovered area between the two garments. It is often worn in hot weather or while swimming. The shapes of both parts of a bikini closely resemble women's underwear, and the lower part of a bikini can therefore range from the more revealing thong and modest square-cut shorts.
Bikini is the most popular beachwear around the globe, which is, according to French fashion historian Olivier Saillard, due to "the power of women, and not the power of fashion", as he explains, ""The emancipation of swimwear has always been linked to the emancipation of women." By mid 2000s, these two-piece bathing suits eveolved into an US$ 811 million business annually, according to the NPD Group, a consumer and retail information company. The bikini has boosted spin-off services like bikini waxing and the sun tanning industries.
