Back in 2001, Britney Spears wore tiny hot pink bikini bottoms over low-slung metallic green flares that felt revolutionary. The pop star's outfit in his sweaty, sexy music video for “I'm a Slave 4 U” shocked pop culture.
As with all things Y2K, exposed thongs are back in fashion. But in this modern-day rendition of his 2000s style, celebs have gone from just showing off their straps to stepping out with their underwear on full display. This trend started to pick up steam with Saint Laurent's Spring 2023 show, where one-third of her looks consisted of her wearing just one pair of briefs under a sheer or semi-sheer dress. Ta. The influence of Miu Miu's last few collections was also felt, especially in Fall 2023, when Miu Miu sent Emma Corrin down the runway with her foresight in totally dazzling hotpants.
The boom has involved everyone from eccentric dressers like Julia Fox to haute couture stalwarts like Anya Taylor-Joy and Janelle Monáe.Dua Lipa celebrated the release barbie She wore a chain mail Bottega Veneta gown with just a pair of hanky panky's underneath. Florence Pugh attended the Valentino show showing off her tight white pants. And Irina Shayk appeared at the Cannes Film Festival wearing a Gucci-branded bra and thong.
Lupita Nyong'o wears Gucci at the 2023 LACMA Art+Film Gala.
Lingerie supremacy didn't emerge overnight. According to fashion historian Kimberly Crisman-Campbell, this trend has actually been decades in the making. “It used to be a fashion mistake to have a visible panty line or a visible slip or bra strap,” she says. “It was scandalous for Madonna to wear underwear as outerwear in the '80s or for Kate Moss to wear sheer dresses over briefs in the '90s.” However, “by the early 2000s, Since then, the public has become “more and more desensitized. That's why designers kept changing” and creating the spiky look we see today. It's connected to revealing fashion, she says.
Ashley Graham, Irina Shayk and Dua Lipa are among the lovers of lingerie dressing.
Chrisman-Campbell attributes the style's enduring popularity among celebrities to the fact that “it's a feast for the eyes and guarantees that the wearer will be noticed and photographed.” I am. And getting noticed is everything, especially in today's rapidly changing media environment. It's been more than 20 years since Spears first appeared on TV screens, and the hunger for celebrity content is greater than ever, with even the most risqué fashion moments poised to break through all the digital noise. It's getting difficult. So, in an attempt to crack the algorithm and dominate the news cycle, celebrities are increasingly wearing lacy clothing to make headlines and generate even more free press.
But Jessica Morgan, co-founder of celebrity fashion site Go Fug Yourself, says these styles don't have the impact they once did. “I really think people don't find statements like this by celebrities to be completely shocking anymore,” she says. While wearing a last-minute dress like this may have diminishing returns from a clickbait standpoint, the strategy can work wonders for stars in need of an image overhaul. “It can be a great way to fine-tune your personal branding,” Morgan says. “If you're considered conservative, this is an easy way to reverse that.”
Given the many PR benefits of this outfit, and the decrease in public outrage over it, we're likely to see more nudity in celebrity fashion in the future, says Chrisman-Campbell. Traditionally, “the pendulum cycles from naked to naked and back again,” she explains. However, in recent years, we've been seeing more highly embellished or structured versions of the naked dress instead, which incorporate both trends at the same time.
And even though full-on thongs are the toast of Tinseltown at the moment, Morgan doesn't expect these sheer dresses to catch on outside of the A-list anytime soon. “I think most of us just try to keep our underwear on…you know?”
This story appears in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of ELLE.
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