Although Réard was an engineer, he was running his mother's shoe shop Les Folies Bergères in Paris by 1946.[2] Réard and Jacques Heim, his rival designer, were competing to produce the world's smallest swimsuit.[3] Heim developed his swimsuit and called it the "atom" and advertised it as "the world's smallest bathing suit."[4]
In 1946 Réard introduced the bikini. His swimsuit was basically a bra top and two inverted triangles of cloth connected by string and it was significantly smaller. Made out of a scant 30 square inches of fabric, he promoted his creation as "smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit." He called his creation the bikini, named after the Bikini Atoll.[4][5] The idea struck him when he saw women rolling up their beachwear to get a better tan.[6]
I'm curious to know why you only wanted ladies to answer this question? I googled it and found out straight away too
An Automobile engineer invented the bikini? Always wondered where the connection between cars and women in bikini's came from