A History of the Playboy Bunny: The Rise and Rise of an Icon

Desired. Denounced. Defended. Utter the words, “Playboy Bunny,” and one immediately conjures a complicated yet crucial image revolving around the heyday of 1960s’ sex, glamour and decadent nightlife. Although the Playboy brand celebrates a lifestyle that’s exclusively devoted to masculine pursuits and pleasures, the Playboy bunny is a ubiquitous representation of that lifestyle.

While Playboy bunnies may be evocative of a foregone decade, there’s no denying that Hollywood has sought to revive the Playboy lifestyle, along with women who accompany it. Largely attributed to the to the runaway success of television shows like “Mad Men,” the retro brand is suddenly in high demand, with the Playboy Club re-opening its doors in London and Las Vegas. NBC TV even tried to demonstrate the lifestyle in American living rooms with their show, “The Playboy Club” (the controversial show was canceled after just three episodes).

Given the Bunny’s sudden transition from an antiquated sexual icon to a figure of today’s mainstream culture, it’s important to take a look at the history of the Playboy bunny, and how she came to be regarded as such a celebrated – and controversial – figure.

The Birth of Playboy Bunnies

Hugh Hefner founded the Playboy empire in the late 1950s, on the back of his Playboy magazine. The publication had a very specific goal: to present men with a fantasy world filled with hard liquor, fast women and luxurious leisure. Hefner’s publication immediately became a hit, which led to the opening of the first Playboy Club in Chicago on February 29th, 1960. The cocktail waitresses who entertained and served the club patrons became known as “Playboy Bunnies,” and wore the trademark costume of a satin corseted bodice, bow tie, collars, cuffs and bunny ears. Hefner’s good friend and business associate, Victor Lownes, originally designed the costume.

Bunnies Behaving Badly

While the pages of Playboy magazines presented an erotic vision of women, the Playboy bunny was held to an entirely different standard. Bunnies were required to follow a strict code of dress and conduct, with even the slightest deviations resulting in dismissal. Bunnies were not allowed to have romantic relationships with the clientele, nor were they allowed to engaging in overtly flirtatious behavior with a customer.

The women were also supervised by a “Bunny Mother”, who was responsibility for ensuring that the Bunnies maintained their pleasing figures and docile behavior. One Bunny Mother even weighed her Bunnies on an industrial-sized scale, and was quick to fire any girl who had gained even the slightest amount of weight. Bunnies were not allowed to gain or lose a single pound, with water retention being the only exception to this rule.

Finally, Playboy Bunnies were expected to master poses that became just as infamous as the costume. For example, the “Bunny Dip” allowed them to serve cocktails to customers without exposing their ample cleavage (Bunnies were expected to have a cup size of D or higher); this move involved gracefully bending backwards to hand the cocktail to the customer. The “Bunny Perch” involved sitting on a stool or bench with an arched back, at a reasonable distance from a client. The “Bunny Stance” was the go-to pose for standing Bunnies, and is often replicated by Hollywood stars on the red carpet today: the legs are kept together, the hips are tucked under the waist to emphasize slenderness and the back is seductively arched.

While the 1960s were the undeniable heyday of the Playboy Bunny, the cracks began to show in the perfect façade in the late 1970s. While Hefner struggled with accusations of financial misconduct from his London club, the Playboy bunnies began to ignore the strict rules that kept them in place. The Bunnies started dating customers and engaged in trysts that were arranged and kept confidential by Club employees. Scandals began rocking the Playboy world as well; one Bunny committed suicide, while another was murdered in 1980 (the case is still unsolved today). Finally, in 1983, renowned feminist Gloria Steinem published a ripping exposé about Playboy Bunnies in her classic text, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions.

When the Playboy Club in London finally closed down, the once iconic brand – and the Bunny – looked defeated. Much of Hefner’s profits came from London; his only chance for survival was to exclusively focus on media and publishing. The Playboy brand only survived the 90s due to the success of publications like Playboy Magazine, Playboy Back issues, and Playboy VIP magazines, along with forays into cable television.

The Playboy Bunny Today

Despite these setbacks, the Bunnies were not out of the picture. In fact, Hefner’s aptitude for media gave Bunnies an opportunity to get back into the spotlight, thanks to the emergence of the hit reality television show “Girls Next Door,” which documented the lives of Hefner and his three girlfriends in the Playboy mansion. In 2006, Hefner opened the glittering doors of the Playboy Club at the Palms Hotel-Casino in Vegas to much acclaim. The cocktail waitresses were reminiscent of the original Bunnies, with one very luxurious difference: fashion royalty Roberto Cavalli designed the new costumes.

The Bunny had another major re-emergence with the 2011 opening of London’s Playboy Club and Casino, located in ritzy Mayfair. While the Club initially met with resistance and protests – particularly from feminist groups seeking to target the sexualization of women via the Playboy Bunny costume – it has quickly become a mainstay in the London scene. 2011 also saw the premiere of the NBC TV show “The Playboy Club,” although that was quickly pulled off the air due to low audience numbers.

Thanks to the recent demand for retro fashions and lifestyles, the thirst for a return to the ideals of the swinging ‘60s, and the fascination with the universal brand, there’s no denying that the Playboy brand will enjoy dominance over the nightlife scene once again.

And the iconic Playboy Bunnies will be there to enjoy every opulent moment