The sheer dress trend has dominated Paris Fashion Week, which ended on Tuesday, showing that demand for revealing dresses remains undiminished despite practical and even legal problems.
From pop star Dua Lipa showing off her underwear at the “Barbie” premiere to Rihanna sitting front row in a mesh babydoll dress, the nude look has been everywhere over the past year. Whether made of tulle, organza, fishnet or chiffon, the trend could not be missed on the Paris catwalks. From Chloé and Courreges to Givenchy and Weinsanto, the style came in all variations.
According to fashion data service TagWalk, the number of see-through outfits among the top 20 brands increased by 40 percent between 2023 and 2024. However, no brand went as far as Saint Laurent, whose creative director Anthony Vaccarello made the theme of “transparency” the dominant part of his latest fall/winter collection last week.
The timing was perfect to begin the exhibition “Sheer: The Diaphanous Creations of Yves Saint Laurent” at his eponymous museum in Paris, which focuses on his first sheer look in 1966 and his iconic sheer chiffon dress in two years later goes back.
Puritan Americans were outraged then, and they remain outraged today, albeit with a more sociopolitical justification.
“Breasts, breasts, everywhere,” wrote the shocked US newspaper New York Times last week, lamenting that only 12 of the 48 looks from the Saint Laurent show could be published in “this family newspaper”.
“At this stage of the 21st century, so much transparency seems like the most banal form of misogynistic provocation,” wrote fashion correspondent Vanessa Friedman. “(Women) are already treated like objects, do we really need more objectification?”
‘Sexual Display’
Of course, transparent looks have always attracted a lot of attention. Jennifer Lopez’s performance in a sheer green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammy Awards generated so much internet traffic that it helped create Google Images a year later. Some also see it as an extension of the “body positive” movement, in which women can proudly show off their bodies.
Saint Laurent biographer Laurence Benaim dismissed criticism of the iconic designer, saying he had elevated transparency to art. “It wasn’t about exposing the body, but about suggesting its presence through a material that was as sensual as it was intangible. Transparency means freedom,” said Benaim.
However, too much exposure can mean the end of freedom. Even in supposedly liberal France, the offense of “sexual exhibition” still carries a year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros. “There is a difference between a fashion show in a private space where the audience knows what to expect and the idea of wearing these outfits in public,” said French defense lawyer Avi Bitton.
So how can you wear this trend without ending up in jail? “It depends on your daily life, but even the option of visible panties isn’t an option for most people,” says Clemence Guillerm, stylist for Cosmopolitan magazine.
Instead, she suggested wearing a short slip dress or skirt under a sheer knee-length skirt or midi skirt to achieve the same effect. For the top, Guillerm advised “those who are not yet so brave” to wear a blazer over an opaque or nude bodysuit.(AFP)
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.fr