The look created by a 19th-century trapeze artist – equal parts athleticism and sex appeal – is still flying high today
In May 1861, a new act at the Alhambra theatre in Leicester Square was the talk of London. The audience screamed in delight as a young Frenchman performed his flying trapeze routine, leaping between three wires above their heads before eventually somersaulting to a mattress, where he took a bow. The performer’s talent allowed him to command an unheard-of fee, £180 a week, while his impressive musculature showcased in a tight one-piece garment earned him so many female fans that George Leybourne wrote a song about him:
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