Exhibition ★★★★ The Guardian
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style
A major exhibition celebrating our enduring love of the water over the last 100 years. Explore the full spectrum of the design of swimming — from sports performance and fashion, to architecture.
What to expect
Across three in-depth sections that reflect the three locations in which we swim — the pool, the lido and nature — the exhibition dives into design’s role in shaping our relationship with swimming, both in the water and beside it.
The exhibition’s story starts in the 1920s, when swimwear began to be marketed for swimming rather than the Victorian’s preference for bathing, and when beach holidays exploded in popularity. It explores right up to the present day, and swimming’s role in modern life such as how it influences and subverts our ideas of body autonomy and agency, as well as its link to environmental issues.
Discover over 200 objects, collectively exploring swimming’s evolution in its social, cultural, technological and environmental contexts, including Pamela Anderson's sensational Baywatch swimsuit, the first Olympic solo swimming gold medal won by a British woman, and a selection of eye-catching men’s Speedos from the 1980s. Other objects on view are the banned ‘technical doping’ LZR Racer swimsuit, one of the earliest surviving examples of a bikini, and a detailed architectural model of the Zaha Hadid-designed London 2012 Aquatics Centre.
Splash! is guest-curated by Amber Butchart, a dress and design historian and broadcaster known for her history segments on BBC One’s The Great British Sewing Bee.
Share your favourite designs with @designmuseum using #SplashExhibition
Exhibition Photography © Luke Hayes for the Design Museum
Lucy Morton’s gold medal from the 1924 Paris Olympics
Willi & Toukie Smith designer & model. NYC 1978. Photo courtesy of Anthony Barboza
The Seagull and the Windbreak. © ABIR Architects. Photo courtesy of Richard Rowland (deceased)
Book online
Booking information
Adult tickets from £14.38
Children aged 6 to 15 from £7.19
Under 6s go free
Concession/Student tickets from £10.77
Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Visit our terms & conditions page for further information. If you can't attend, you can upgrade your ticket to Membership, which gives you unlimited access to our exhibitions at any time. Get in touch with the team via the email membership@designmuseum.org to find out more.
• The museum accepts digital/card payments only, including ticket desk, shops and cafes.
• ICOM cardholders, please contact bookings@designmuseum.org for information on how to book your ticket.
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MEMBERS GO FREE
Members enjoy unlimited free entry to all exhibitions, even when tickets are sold out. If you're a member, there is no need to book in advance, just turn up with your digital membership card. Become a Member to enjoy a whole year of unlimited access to all our exhibitions, plus discounts in our public programme, shops and cafes.
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OPENING TIMES
The museum opens daily from 10:00 to 17:00. Please check our
Opening times page for further information.
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Access: Large Print Guide and Sensory Map
This exhibition gallery is located on Level -1.
Please note that wheelchair users must access the exhibition via Lift to Level-2.
During your visit, ask a member of staff for a printed copy of a Large Print Guide or download the digital version via the link below.
You can also download a sensory map for Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style exhibition space via the link below.
Related events
Design Camps
Inspired by themes from our current exhibition, our collaborative workshops for ages 8 to 14 will spark young imaginations – whether it's reimagining waterparks, giving plastic a new life as fabric or experimenting with analogue graphic design, our half-term Design Camps are bursting with creativity this spring.
British Sign Language Tour: Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style
Join us for a group tour of highlights of the exhibition Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style for D/deaf visitors who use British Sign Language and their companions, facilitated by Edward Richards.
Audio Described Tour: Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style
Join us for an audio-described sensory tour of highlights of the exhibition 'Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style' for blind and visually impaired visitors and their companions.
Masterclass: Print Design for Swimwear
Join Creative Director and stylist William Baker and Print artist and designer Lisa King for masterclass on print design for swimwear. Sharing their inspirations through history and their personal approaches to print design, they will guide you through colour and print design for a mini capsule collection of swimwear.
Talk: On Swimwear Design: Politics, Gender, History
Join Fashion Historian and Curator Amber Butchart, swimwear designer Ayesha Mahomed, Assistant Curator Tiya Dahyabhai, and curator Shaun Cole in a conversation exploring the semiotics of swimwear and its history of subversion, rebellion and innovation.
Talk: On Social Architecture: Swimming Spaces and the City
Join Chris Romer-Lee, Kathryn Ferry, Peigh Asante and Christopher Beanland for this conversation panel exploring how public pools and waterways enrich neighbourhoods, shape communities, and enhance individual wellbeing.
Background image: Subversive Sirens