Beach blanket Bruno? Lederhosen swimwear a new fad

Sacha Baron Cohen as ''Bruno'' in a publicity image for the film.

VIENNA (Reuters Life!) - An Austrian entrepreneur is cashing in on a new fad for beachwear resembling the lederhosen look worn by Sacha Baron Cohen's camp comedy character in the hit film "Bruno."

Peter Kolb said he came up with the idea for beachwear designed to resemble the traditional leather shorts with suspenders worn in Austria and parts of Germany 10 years ago, but has seen a roaring trade over the last two months.

"I sold 20,000 of them in just eight weeks," said Kolb, whose lederhosen-like swimsuits for men and bikinis for women can be found online at www.pk-traditional.com .

He said most orders come from Austria and Germany. But he has also shipped to Japan, the United States and Australia. Soccer champions Bayern Munich have asked if they could have some of his wares, which cost 79 euros ($111.60) each, for their fan shop in.

They will also go on sale at Munich's Oktoberfest.

Kolb says clients send him pictures of his outfits from Miami Beach to France's Cote d'Azur and when he wears his creations around Vienna, it's never for long.

"Whenever I'm wearing one, next thing you know someone comes along and says, 'Come on, give me that thing."

(Reporting by Alexandra Zawadil, writing by Boris Groendahl editing by Paul Casciato)