Fashion week is typically all about the clothes. But this season, in both Paris and Milan, it was often about what people weren’t wearing, rather than what they were.
As seen on both the runways and the streets, it was clear that nudity is back. Celebrities and models alike sported a preponderance of sheer clothing, skin-baring garments, and sometimes fully exposed private parts. The trend toward nudity reflects both the return of ’90s-era fashion trends — when risque looks, low-rise jeans and an obsession with weight loss were prominent — and a social moment when proud femininity is rising to meet political changes like a backsliding on reproductive rights.
The runway show with the most prevalent use of sheer and see-through styles was at Saint Laurent on February 27. The French brand’s fall 2024 collection designed by Anthony Vaccarello showcased a wide variety of sheer chiffon shirts and dresses, calling back to Yves Saint Laurent’s original see-through blouse from the 1960s. Celebrities including Olivia Wilde and Elsa Hosk, who were in attendance at the show, wore similarly see-through dresses with nothing underneath. The show, and Wilde’s outfit, drew attention on social media and prompted the observation that “nobody wore a bra to the Saint Laurent show.”
“We’ve seen transparent and see-through clothing take over red carpets and fashion runways this year with more seductive, layered looks,” said Megan Gokey, head of B2C marketing for North America and the U.K. at fintech company Klarna, which tracks fashion trends through its purchase data. According to Klarna’s data, sales of sheer dresses and skirts are up 82% in the last year.
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“Not surprisingly, sheer clothing is already one of spring 2024’s biggest fashion trends because of its hyperfemininity and versatility,” Gokey said. “We’re seeing sheer iterations of classic garments like knitwear either being dressed down to create a more casual and effortless look or dressed up by pairing them with more elevated feminine silhouettes.”
Elsewhere, nudity, nipples and other revealing clothing were on display at the Avavav show in Milan on February 25. Models in sheer dresses exposing their nipples were pelted by the audience with trash and fruit in what the brand described on Instagram as a parodic send-up of online critics. Kate Moss, while not nude in the traditional sense, made headlines based on wearing a pair of extremely short shorts worn around Paris Fashion Week.
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For some, there’s a deeper meaning to these looks. According to Nada Shepherd, who spent 15 years designing for her own brand, Nada, and is now the founder and CEO of the fashion resale company ReSuit, it’s no coincidence that women are dressing more boldly just a year after the reversal of Roe V. Wade.
“The trend appears to carry deeper significance,” she said. “The concept of ‘uncensored femininity’ has surfaced during this trend, perhaps as a reaction to setbacks in gender equality, including restrictive abortion laws and enduring workplace inequalities.”
In addition, she said the return of ’90s aesthetics could be another factor in the rise of skimpier dressing, particularly thanks to the rise of weight loss drugs like Ozempic.
“The ’90s influence is also present, not just in materials but also in silhouettes,” she said. “With the surge in weight loss trends, likely spurred by new medications, people are keen to showcase their results. Fashion’s embrace of sheer elements is timely and likely to gain popularity.”
The return to the aesthetics of a time that many women today lament for its restrictive beauty standards isn’t the only darker current beneath the more revealing dressing. Another nude look this week was worn by Bianca Censori, wife of Kanye West, who wore a pair of sheer leggings sans underwear while in Paris. In recent months, there have been a number of rumors about West’s controlling presence in Censori’s life, including her outfit choices. Two of West’s exes, Kim Kardashian and Julia Fox, both alleged that he exerted a strong influence over what they wore while in a relationship with him.
But for many women, the decision to go braless or otherwise exposed is a liberating one. The “free the nipple” movement protesting Instagram and other social platforms’ restrictions on female nipples but not males has been going strong for nearly a decade. Erin Kleinberg, founder and CEO of the candle and body-care brand Sidia, was overjoyed at the skin on display in Paris and Milan this season.
“I am a big advocate of #freethenipple,” she said. “We were born like this and, to me, being braless is a mindset, a mentality, and a chance for true liberation and freedom.”
She pointed to one of her brand’s best-selling fragrances, called “Braless,” as evidence that the movement toward freeing the nipple is growing.
“I see the trend as more of a, sort of, ‘fuck you’ to the patriarchy than a ‘sex sells’ mindset,” Kleinberg said. “The women touting these trends are confident and clearly in search of finding their own personal freedom. The sheer tops and exposed breasts are just women being like, ‘This is who I am.’”
