Why wearing a bra is now a faux pas, naked dressing takes Australian Fashion Week by storm
Naked dressing is the big trend out of Australian Fashion Week with our designers wholeheartedly getting in on the action. But what does it mean to the average consumer?
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From the Vanity Fair Oscars party and the Met Gala, to the Australian Fashion Week runways, and a pub near you? The naked dressing trend is here to stay.
P.E. Nation founder Pip Edwards took her final bow in a running jacket paired with undies and a see-through black skirt from her new collection. Albus Lumen debuted sequined see-through gowns and nipple-baring shirts. Black mesh was also a key feature in Third Form’s Resort 25 presentation on Wednesday.
Sheer bright orange tops featured in Liandra’s show.
The one garment we’re yet to see much of at Australian Fashion Week is a bra.
“A woman’s body is a beautiful thing and it’s beautiful to hero that,” Third Form designer Merryn Kelly told The Daily Telegraph of the “sheer trend”.
Kelly’s first solo showing at Pandora Australian Fashion Week for her contemporary womenswear label included see-through black mesh gowns and a dazzling gold sequin number.
“It’s about women not being scared or ashamed to put themselves out there in every regard,” she said. “It’s obviously not going to be for everyone and every occasion.”
Off the runway, the Sydney designer said she’s seen women styling the garments by adding lace bras and bodysuits underneath, or layering sheer dresses over trousers and wearing them with blazers.
“Layering gives it a lot more versatility and life in your wardrobe, but if you want to wear the dress as is, I like that attitude of why the hell not?”
Ever since 1974, when Cher graced the carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in shimmering, sheer Bob Mackie, stars have found a way to bring their interpretation to the annual event – though not without controversy.
The “magnetism of the best naked dresses”, Gladys Lai wrote for Vogue Australia, is “where something is worn, with total ease and comfort, that appears as if nothing is being worn at all”.
“If we intellectualise the appeal, they’re admirable feats of illusion and craftsmanship,” she continued. More simply, though, a naked dress is a statement. It’s unapologetically sexy. It’s a wink in the form of a gown.”
A longtime champion of the daring trend, Emily Ratajkowski most recently wore a see-through vintage Versace design to the 2024 Met Gala. Rita Ora opted for a Marni look consisting of multi-coloured tassels over a sheer body stocking and singer Doja Cat walked the red carpet in a wet T-shirt dress by Vetements, which clung to her body.
Just this week, iconic model Kate Moss was snapped wearing a lingerie-inspired micro minidress with her breasts exposed to a Gucci event in London.
This week we’ve seen Aussie designers present their ready-to-wear interpretations of the red carpet manoeuvre.
“Sheer pieces are great for layering that work well as a cover-up over swimwear, bikini tops, body suits and even brads but it is up to every individual what they feel confident to wear at the end of the day,” designer Liandra Gaykamangu said, while Beare Park creative director Gabriella Pereira noted: “I don’t see sheer as a trend but rather as a device to accessorise and elevate a classic look. By nature, sheer fabrications layer with ease.”
Vogue Australia’s Edwina McCann said the full nudity under sheer clothing was “more of a runway thing” that is often shown editorially also.
“Some people can and do get away with it,” she said. “There will be plenty of people that do that and get away with it. Others will adapt the trend for wearability”
Emma Mulholand sent a number of sheer pieces up the runway for her show.
“I don’t know if it will be a grocery store major trend but definitely for nights out, I think people are loving a bit of cheekiness,” she said. “People are just really embracing their figures and bodies, they’re not afraid to hide things even though we are in winter right now.”
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