Catalina swimwear
Encyclopedia
Catalina is one of the oldest apparel manufacturers in California and one of the best known names in the swimwear industry. Their history began in 1907, as Bentz Knitting Mills, a small manufacturer of underwear and sweaters. The name was changed to Pacific Knitting Mills in 1912, accompanied by the introduction of swimwear to their existing knit lines. The third and final name change came in 1928, to Catalina as we know it today.

The earliest wool knit suits were patterned after a simple one-piece style introduced to the US by Australian swim star Annette Kellerman
Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star, and writer...

. In the 1920s, Catalina produced increasingly baring and fashionable swimwear, including the boldly striped Chicken Suit, men's Speed Suit and Ribstitch "S" suits. With the rising glitz and glam of the silver screen in the 1930s, Catalina adopted the slogan "Styled for the Stars of Hollywood." They added to the prestige by using Hollywood starlets, including Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...

, Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell
Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...

 and Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...

, in their marketing campaigns. At the time, the average Catalina swimsuit retailed between five and ten dollars, equivalent to $110 – $185 today.

Catalina's influence was also intertwined with the myth and icon of the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

 Beauty Pageant. When they sponsored the contest in the 1940s, contestants wore essentially off-the-rack Catalina swimsuits, except the pageant suits had the flying fish logo on both hips instead of just one. They dropped sponsorship after the 1951 winner, Yolande Betbeze
Yolande Betbeze
Yolande Betbeze Fox was Miss America in 1951.Fox entered Miss Alabama for the scholarship opportunities the pageant presented...

, refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit. Catalina then went on to found the Miss USA
Miss USA
The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...

, Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant run by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. The reigning titleholder is Danielle Doty of Texas....

 and Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....

 pageants, co-sponsoring them for decades to follow. With this came a new slogan to emphasize their growing global awareness: "Around the world... it's Catalina."

In the 1960s, Catalina became a sister company to Cole of California, a swimwear manufacturer established in 1925. The duo later joined Authentic Fitness Corporation, a subsidiary of Warnaco Inc, in 1993. The merger created a super company of swim, active and fitness brands. The following year, with the rising importance of mass market retailers, the decision was made to offer Catalina to Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...

 stores across America.

Catalina also had an important presence in South America, through license agreements, especially Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, sponsoring the beauty pageants in these countries, with several contestants winning the Miss Universe event. Today the brand is manufactured in Brazil, and distributed in the Mercosur countries by Grupo Aguia.

Catalina was part of the Warnaco Swimwear Group's portfolio of highly recognized brand names including Speedo
Speedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...

, Anne Cole, Nautica and Michael Kors
Michael Kors
Michael Kors is an American fashion designer. He is best known for designing classic American sportswear for women.-Personal life:...

, amongst others. It was sold in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. Catalina is predominantly women's swimwear, including a rib suit known as the "Everybody Tank", as well as Separates, Athletic and Maternity lines. In 2007, Catalina landed seventh on a list of top swimwear brands ranked by consumer awareness, as published in the Women's Wear Daily's 4th Annual Book of Lists.

In December 2007 The Warnaco Group announced it had sold the Catalina business to In Mocean Group.
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