It started making timid red carpet appearances around Y2K and, in the last ten years, the cadence has accelerated not only at celebrity-studded events and fashion functions, but equally at parties and music festivals. Truth be told: we’re full on in the transparent dress era.
See-through clothing is already one of spring 2024’s biggest stories because of its hyper-femininity and versatility. You can dress it up (wear it long, add a corset and heels) or dress it down (wear it in layers, add a T-shirt, and Crocs or sneakers).
But make no mistake, translucent clothing is on the rise looking into fall winter 2024 where many collections included sheerness of some type. Even knitwear is now including openwork elements. The best part? These dresses are available at every price point: from ultra-affordable stretch tulle to super-sophisticated frothy chiffon with that rediscovered boho vibe. According to Klarna, a fintech company offering ‘buy now and pay later plans’ that obviously tracks fashion trends through purchase data, sales of sheer dresses and skirts have surged by 82% in the past year.
Fashion weeks, typically a celebration of clothing, took an unexpected turn this season shifting from what models and audience were wearing to what they weren’t. Essentially, the body is making a loud comeback. Some say the trend harks back to ’90s fashion, characterized by abbreviated clothing like slip dresses, low-rise jeans, and an obsession with thinness, yet again. (Where were the plus-size models this season? Has everyone gone crazy on Ozempic?). At the same time, it aligns with a social moment where proud femininity confronts political challenges, including threats to reproductive rights. Lest we forget Roe vs. Wade was overturned in June 2022, a social watershed moment for sure. And even if that was in the U.S. there are consequences worldwide.
Like everything important moment in fashion, the transparency trend carries a deeper significance. It’s a reaction to setbacks in gender equality, including restrictive abortion laws and enduring workplace inequalities. Not to mention eroding rights to the trans and gay community.
The standout runway show for sheer styles occurred at Saint Laurent in a collection that paid homage to Yves Saint Laurent’s original see-through blouse from the 1960s. Celebrities who attended the show were confidently donning similarly transparent clothing. Social media buzzed with observations that “nobody wore a bra to the Saint Laurent show.”
The Underwear as Outerwear Charade
Bra straps and visible panty lines (“What, no slip?!” — would utter many a woman in the 1960s) were completely anathema before Madonna made lingerie as outerwear her strong branding message in the 80s, scandalizing in the process both die-hard feminists and ultra-traditional adults, who found it outrageous to wear fifties-inspired heavily constructed lace bras, garters, and high-waisted briefs when it was the norm to wear close-to-nothing nude coloured jersey bras and bikini panties.
Then came the 90s with Courtney Love and her posse of grunge girls flaunting vintage lace slip dresses, visibly showing their underpinnings. By the early 2000s, bra tops and visible thongs had become almost mainstream. Cue in Christina Aguilera, Paris Hilton, and all the starlets of the era either going commando (a premonition of Bianca Censori-West showing off too much during Paris Fashion Week?), or proudly displaying whale tails under super low-waisted pants. Yes, like Juicy Couture velour tracksuits.
As with all things Y2K, the exposed thong is once again back in the spotlight. But in the modern iteration of this 2000s style, instead of just showing snippets of it we are choosing to step out at events and parties with completely visible underwear. Not to mention the new habit of forgoing bottoms (thank you Miu Miu and its bedazzled micro-shorts), while bravely embracing the pantless trend.
Free the Nipple
If you’re like us and love sharing stunning fashion photoshoots, you’ve probably come across Instagram’s and TikTok’s ridiculous ban on female bossoms. Post any image of a fashion model or important work of art featuring the uncovered breast, and see them immediately be taken down by the right-wing prude bots or, worse, your account being shadowbanned. But there are tens of thousands of overtly titillating bio shots on Instagram that gleefully continue to be visible. Yup, that’s the deal.
The movement protesting social media’s ridiculous restrictions has been going strong for nearly a decade. And now that transparent dresses are becoming part of a regular wardrobe, the decision to go braless, or otherwise exposed, can be liberating. Just like donning corsets as a big fashion accessory can be a tool of feminism 3.0, the women touting these trends are confident and clearly in search of finding their own personal freedom.
But… Is it Click Bait?
In the more than 20 years since Britney Spears writhed with pleasure on our screens in the sweaty, sexy music video for “I’m a Slave 4 U” in barely-there clothing, celebrities seeking attention (and us consumers wanting it) has never been more acute. Sheer dresses provide the wearer with the near guarantee that they will be noticed and photographed, and in an attempt for celebrities (and quasi-celebrities) to become viral, the less clothing the better to tickle the algorithm to go into overdrive. And it’s not just women who do it. Just look at Lenny Kravitz and his unbuttoned lace shirts with second skin leather pants.
Does that mean we’re almost at the end of this cycle? Seeing barely clothed people going to big events and parties is definitely not as shocking anymore. The fashion pendulum tends to swing from prude to liberated, and then vice versa. However we’ve been witnessing, with increased insistence, transparent dresses on red carpets since the late 90s. And now everyone is wearing them, from A-list Hollywood heavyweights to anonymous cute girls just going to Osheaga.
So, expect to see more embellished or structured versions of sheer clothing in the near future. We’re not done with it, just yet.
