When the first Playboy Club opened its doors on a windy Chicago night in 1960, the image of the Playboy Bunny became the first symbol of the pending sexual revolution. Over the past 45 years she has inspired artists, writers, filmmakers and fashion designers, most recently Roberto Cavalli. And she couldn't have done it without her famous outfit. Here's how the girl in the Bunny suit became an icon of pop culture.
 The original Playboy Club in Chicago was patterned after the city's exclusive Gaslight Club, an elegant key club for Second City powerbrokers and VIPs. When Playboy magazine ran an article about Gaslight in 1959, reader response was overwhelming. Playboy Promotions Director Victor Lownes pitched an idea to Hef: Why not bring the magazine's bachelor pad image to life in Playboy's own urban hangout?
Hef loved the concept -- but a key element was still missing. The "Gaslight Girls" served their male patrons in Gay Nineties-style corsets and fishnet tights, and the Playboy Club needed a sexy costume of its own. Hef's first thought was to have scantily-clad "Playmates" in nighties serving drinks, but a better idea soon came strolling in the door.
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Hef checks out early Bunny-costume developments
at the Playboy Mansion in Chicago. |
