The Original TA-BOU Logo
Our first TA-BOU logo was designed in 1978 by the founder, Gianni De Nicola, without the use of models.
To illustrate a woman’s freedom to be whoever she chooses to be, he portrayed the black woman as blonde and the white woman with an afro-look. Almost nobody noticed this small yet meaningful detail.
TA-BOU opens in Zurich
On March 8th, 1978 (International Women’s Day), TA-BOU opens its first store in Zurich.
It is the first and only shop to offer worldwide beachwear all-year-round.
The name of the brand is derived from the first two letters of Tanga (thong) TA- and BOU for BOUtique.
1978 Marcia, Brazilian model adorns the first TA-BOU poster.
Aha! TA-BOU
Following its immediate success, TA-BOU soon expanded into a larger space. Only two years after opening its first boutique, the brand moved to Kuttelgasse 4, in the very heart of Zurich’s City Centre.
The campaign of that year featured model Federica, under the slogan ‘Aha! TA-BOU’.
When will you come by?
The Slogan “Wann kommen Sie vorbei?” (translation: “When will you come by?”), with the Norwegian top model Nina Klepp on the poster, teases potential customers.
Nevertheless, it also induced certain businessmen to think about services that we do not provide!
TA-BOU, who else?
In this edition, Ingrid Haverkate marks the end of her modeling career, posing one last time for TA-BOU under the slogan
‘TA-BOU, wer denn sonst?’
(‘TA-BOU – who else?’).
Having graduated in Fashion Design from the world known Istituto Marangoni in Milan, she went on to shape the brand’s creative direction – since then, every TA-BOU piece carries her signature design.
Ing-Marie
1988 was followed by the "cool blonde from the north" Ing-Marie, with three Lycra roses adorning her bikini. These roses were hand made by an 80-year-old grandma in Southern Italy; she made over 2,000 pieces that year, all of them sold out immediately!
1991
Maria-Louisa & The Birth of Venus
Modigliani drew his Venus based on the famous
“Birth of Venus” by Botticelli.
Maria-Louisa & Modigliani-Madonna
Coincidentally, Modigliani’s Venus was hung
right next to the “TA-BOU Venus”, the
poster with Maria-Louisa, Luzern of June 4th 1991.
Syl & 16 years old & taboo?
The poster for the 1994 campaign was shot with Syl Petkovic and caused great turmoil all over the media and in the entire nation. That’s why we placed at the same time little ads in daily newspapers just showing…
To make it better understandable, here the full story…
The slogan ‘16-jährig und tabu’ carried a deliberate ambiguity.
It marked TA-BOU’s 16th anniversary and was never intended to reference a woman’s age of consent. We don’t know of anyone who realized this fact.
Only two weeks later, with the release of a second poster – “no… TA-BOU“ – was the question fully answered, clarifying what most of the public had not even considered.”
Alexandra Mix & Match
Kann frau… halbe Bikinis kaufen?” (translation: “Can woman… buy half-bikinis?”) this was a new milestone, something no one had done before.
Indeed, at TA-BOU, one can buy tops and bottoms separately, matching these into numerous color and size combinations. The poster was shot with Alexandra Kabi, Don Johnson’s (Miami Vice) girlfriend at the time.
This shoot took place on Elephant Island off the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia.
From that moment on, we stopped selling bikinis. Instead, we offered only tops and bottoms — allowing women to mix and match and choose each piece individually.
Petra & TA-BOU DATA
The only beachwear that reveals its date of birth (production). Shouldn't this information be communicated openly and transparently by everyone in the fashion industry?
We did it – we put the date of manufacture of our beachwear on the inside label, so our customers know how “old” it is. No one dared to copy us in that regard...
TA-BOU turns 25
No longer 16...
Syl in the same position as in 1994…
In 2003, to mark its 25th anniversary, TA-BOU revisited its iconic 1994 campaign – recreating the exact same image, with the same model, in the same pose, nine years later. But this time, it was refused by the City of Zurich. The image had not changed – only the reaction to it had.
Rather than stepping back, Gianni De Nicola responded instantly. A revised version was approved for public display, while the original was presented on private billboards – uncut.
Both versions appeared side by side, turning a rejection into a statement.
TA-BOU placed both posters on their shop windows with the writing: “Why does TA-BOU have two different posters this year?”
Within hours, the campaign sparked media attention and public debate. What began as a restriction became something far more powerful: a question of context, perception, and who decides where the line is drawn.
Miss Switzerland
In our 2008 fashion show for our 30th anniversary at Kaufleuten, we presented our GLAM® Collection for the first time - beachwear with Swarovski crystals. This limited edition is adorned with 1400 Swarovski® crystals and was presented on the runway by former Miss Switzerland Christa Rigozzi and top-model Xenia Tchoumitcheva.
When less means more
With “Wenn wenig viel bedeutet” (translation: “When little means a lot”), we describe our demanding work; namely to create an incomparable comfort with very little fabric.
Wear At Your Own Risk
International top-model and “Guess-Girl” Candice Boucher is featured on this stunning poster, taken by Sports-Illustrated photographer Jacques Weyers in the Seychelles; both are South African nationals.
COBRA
Miss Florida Brittany Oldehoff graced our posters shot in Curaçao in 2013.
The sexy, exclusive and uniquely laced one-piece called COBRA, was a huge success and set a new benchmark for sexy one-piece swimsuits.
Catwalk
The newly crowned "Miss Switzerland" Dominique Rinderknecht shows her irresistible charm on TA-BOU’s posters.
For the Miss Switzerland contest TA-BOU designer Valeria De Nicola, who took over the TA-BOU design along with her Mom Ingrid (1984 Model) after completing the same designer school "Marangoni Fashion Institute" in Milan and Paris created 12 one of a kind outfits that were worn by the finalists on the catwalk of Switzerland's largest indoor stadium, the Hallenstadion in Zurich.
Wir machen weiter…
One of the largest controversial poster…
“Once again, hardly anyone understood what we were communicating. To be fair, it wasn’t easy — it required a certain level of intellect and at least a bit of historical knowledge, not just fashion history.”
Location: Palm Springs, California
We played, surely with some irony, with the perception at first sight to Jesus & Alexander, both historical figures who died at the age of 33. The† and the* (see on the lower left corner) revealed that we meant the two fashion brands
In fashion, there was a brand “Jesus jeans“ as well as a designer by the name of “Alexander McQueen“. Jesus jeans were promoted by Oliviero Toscani’s shocking way of making ads at the time; he shocked with biblical citations “Non avrai altro jeans all’infuori di me“ & “Chi mi ama, mi segua“. In English: “Thou shalt not have any other jeans but me“ & ”Whoever loves me, follows me“.
Oliviero Toscani later became the very well world known promoter of the controversial Benetton posters.
The label “Alexander McQueen“ changed later to McQueen as the designer died in 2010. Our aim in this campaign was to tell the public that we – unlike most of the known brands do not promote unfair work (child labor, low salary, unsustainability etc.) and that we had passed our 33rd anniversary…
Beachwear for every body
TA-BOU is a family business. For this reason, different generations of the TA-BOU family appear in this year’s campaign in person; Ruth, the woman on the left was the only booked model!
The slogan is simple, yet meaningful: “Beachwear for every body.” It reflects our belief that our beachwear is created for everyone – and for every body.
There is no such thing as a “bikini body.” Every body is a bikini body at TA-BOU.
This is what we stand for.