Bec & Bridge, Michael Lo Sordo and more rule the runway at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week

From sheer slips to chain-mail bras and low-rise bottoms, these are the hottest trends to know.

3 min read

May 11, 2022 - 4:15PM

News Corp Australia Network

A model on the runway for Bec & Bridge’s Afterpay Australian Fashion Week show at Carriageworks. Picture: Getty Images

Near-naked slips, plunging sheer tops, and ultra low-rise bottoms – sexy dressing is well and truly in fashion.

When Bec & Bridge debuted its new season collection, dubbed “Twenty-One”, at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, it was clear that showing off skin is still in – and it’s not going anywhere.

The Sydney-based brand showcased its resort ’23 collection spanning hip-skimming trousers, barely-there bralettes, cut-out micro mini-dresses, and translucent knits.

There was even one sparkly, sheer outfit that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Kim Kardashian – in the wake of her much talked-about “naked” dress at the Met Gala.

Kim’s next Met outfit? Bec & Bridge’s take on the ‘naked’ dress at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. Picture: Getty Images

Ultra low-rise silk trousers featured in Bec & Bridge’s resort ’23 collection. Picture: Getty Images

A bra as a top, of course. Picture: Getty Images

Bec & Bridge’s new collection was unveiled on the first day of AAFW – Australia’s official fashion week, backed by New York-based mega agency IMG.

The influence of the 90s on Bec & Bridge duo Becky Cooper and Bridget Yorston was clear – this was a collection that could have been worn by Kate Moss circa her supermodel era, where minimalist tailoring and sheer slips ruled.

Cropped and cute from Bec & Bridge’s ‘Twenty-One’ collection, marking the brand’s 21st year in operation. Picture: Getty Images

Flesh was on show at Carriageworks. Picture: Getty Images

Cooper and Yornston marked 21 years in the industry with the aptly-titled “Twenty-One” collection.

“It’s been 21 years of Bec & Bridge, so we sort of looked back to when we started in the early 2000s and it was what was influencing us at the time,” Cooper told this writer post-show, of the Y2K-esque inspiration.

“It’s almost a bit nostalgic for us to look back. The 90s supermodels that was still a thing, the grunge trends.”

Bec & Bridge’s take on the visible G-string maxi. Picture: Getty Images

As for the sexy silhouettes – spanning see-through fabrics to minis – Cooper said: “We have been known for the mini dress, we didn’t show that many minis on the runways”.

It was a deliberate move for Bec & Bridge to show how tailoring could be sexy and feminine. Case in point: oversized Hailey Bieber-esque blazers, teamed with teeny-tiny crops. “We were exploring other ways of doing the party dress and playing on the suiting elements, exploring different ways girls feeling great about themselves.”

Above all it was about making the wearer “feel strong and confident”, Cooper said, and “to not be so serious about it, to make it fun”.

“It was nice to explore knitwear and crochet and plays on texture, that always looks great in a show and has a feminine energy about it that we loved.”

A sheer moment from Bec & Bridge. Picture: Getty Images

Models strutted the industrial concrete runway at Carriageworks – which could’ve easily doubled as a New York warehouse – to a soundtrack of PJ Harvey, The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers, influenced by the decade in which Bec & Bridge was born.

They’re the sorts of clothes you can already imagine being worn by the brand’s A-list fans, which includes Bieber, Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner (who was recently seen in Bec & Bridge’s citrus-hued “Romana” knit).

And as Cooper and Yorston said in their joint show notes: “We launched in a cultural moment where low-rise jeans reigned supreme, music festivals were at the centre of our social lives, and modern celebrity culture was still in its infancy”.

Times may have changed … but the inspo hasn’t. Shop the Bec & Bridge AAFW runway edit here.

Back to the 90s! Grunge, Nirvana-esque tartan via Bec & Bridge. Picture: Getty Images

Hailey Bieber’s next outfit? The brand continued its signature micro-mini styles. Picture: Getty Images

Back to reality. Picture: Getty Images

More from Bec & Bridge’s ‘Twenty-One’ collection. Picture: Getty Images

The finale! Bec & Bridge’s ‘Twenty-One’ resort ’23 collection at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. Picture: Getty Images

Model boards seen backstage at AAFW. Picture: Getty Images

ON THE RUNWAY

Michael Lo Sordo and St. Agni made the case for Paris Hilton-esque chain-mail bras and bare midriffs that spoke to lighter, breezier days ahead.

St. Agni, the Byron Bay-based brand, showed its resort ’23 collection on Day Two, where backs were back with very low-cut silhouettes.

Musing on the significance of all the skin on show, Elliot Garnaut – who is styling Afterpay’s Future of Fashion runway show on Day Three – said designers were playing into the post-pandemic mood.

A model walks the runway during the Michael Lo Sordo show at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. Picture: Getty Images

The Sydney designer continued the risque trend on the runway at AAFW this season. Picture: Getty Images

Chain-mail a la Michael Lo Sordo. Picture: Getty Images

“From cut-outs to naked dressing we have seen so much more skin shown in the past two years than ever before,” Garnaut said.

So how can you adapt the trend off the runway?

“For me, the adaptation to everyday life – show the parts of your body that you feel most sexy and confident about.

“The low-slung pants and cropped dresses and shirts are very apparent on the runway this year, which is giving consumers the confidence to own their body, and to feel empowered to rock those shapes that are most suited to you. Don’t feel like you have to have everything hanging out, because you don’t.”