Speedo

Speedo
   In 1910, the Scottish immigrant Alexander MacRae (1888-circa 1930) moved to Australia and, in 1914, opened MacRae Knitting Mills, a hosiery factory on Bondi Beach. He expanded his product line to include swimwear in 1928 and the name speedo was given to a racerback swimsuit—first coined from a competition slogan "Speed on in your Speedos." During World War II, MacRae's production was dedicated to the war effort but resumed afterwards as Speedo Knitting Mills (Holdings) Ltd. It became a publicly traded company in 1951. Speedo introduced its new nylon swimsuit "brief for men at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. The company quickly rose to international fame when it claimed that 70 percent of swimming medals were won by athletes wearing Speedos during the 1968 and 1971 Olympics. By the 1976 Olympics, 52 out of 54 countries wore Speedo swimsuits. Lyera was first introduced in the 1970s and by the 1990s, the company's research and development department began experimenting with aqua-blade and fastskin product technology, which are scientifically based on shark's skin which reduces drag and airflow.
   In 1991, Speedo was sold to the British company, Pentland Group Plc., although Speedo Australia remained a separate company. In 2004, Speedo announced a sponsorship agreement with the International Federation of Swimming (FINA) and a partnership with MTV. Speedo's Fastskin FSII Ice, worn by athletes at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, was created after five years of extensive research and provides aerodynamic "second skin" technology that extended into sports other than swimming, such as skeleton, bobsledding, and luge. Speedo is the world's top-selling swimwear brand consisting of women's, children's, and men's fashion and fitness swimwear, and also includes a complete collection of aquatic and fitness equipment. Speedo sponsors many top athletes who collaborate with its research and development team to actualize its three basic principles, "Fit, Fast, and Free."
   See also Activewear.

Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. .

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Speedo — Tipo Sociedad Anónima Fundación  Australia (1928) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Speedo — International Ltd. Год основания 1914 Основатели Alexander MacRae Расположение …   Википедия

  • Speedo — trademark name of a brand of swimwear, 1928, originally made by McRae Hosiery Manufacturers, Australia. From SPEED (Cf. speed) …   Etymology dictionary

  • speedo — ► NOUN (pl. speedos) informal ▪ a speedometer …   English terms dictionary

  • Speedo — Infobox Company name = Speedo International Limited type = Private foundation = Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia (Start date|1914) founder = Alexander MacRae location city = Nottingham location country = England key people = area served =… …   Wikipedia

  • Speedo — Das Logo des Herstellers Speedo ist ein Schwimmartikelhersteller, dessen Geschichte bis ins Jahr 1914 zurückreicht, als das australische Unternehmen MacRae Knitting Mills versuchte, seine Produktpalette um Schwimmbekleidung zu erweitern. Daneben… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Speedo — Logo de Speedo Dates clés 1914 : Création …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Speedo — noun A tight fitting bathing suit, often used for competitive swimming, especially for a female. Her Speedo needed to be very tight …   Wiktionary

  • speedo — n Speedometer. The speedo was showing 35 mph but we seemed to be going much faster. 1930s …   Historical dictionary of American slang

  • speedo — noun (plural speedos) Etymology: by alteration Date: 1934 chiefly British speedometer …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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