Did the bikini originate in Brazil?

While the thong bikini probably originate in Brazil, the bikini itself was invented in France. French designers Jacques Heim and Louis Reard invented the bikini, a small, two-piece bathing suit, in 1946.

Two-piece swimsuits for women appeared in the United States by the early 1940s and were modest by modern standards. In 1946, Heim and Reard competed to design the smallest bathing suits possible. In honor of the U.S. atom bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific, Heim's swimsuit was named the atome, and Reard's was called the bikini. The bikini was first recorded in Brazil in the 1970s, and the thong bikini was developed there soon afterwards.