Have we reached ‘peak naked’?

A FEW MONTHS AGO, when Grazia asked me to cover the naked yoga trend in LA and London, nakedness still felt very much like a niche sport. When I took off my top in a candlelit Free The Nipple yoga class in LA, I felt like I was being brave. I’d been nervous, but going bare-breasted in this gentle and ideologically-sound context (the Free The Nipple movement is a gender-equality movement aimed at de-fetishising women’s breasts) felt amazing. When I tried naked yoga – starkers downward-dogging in front of five men – I was amazed just how many people wanted a yoga class that challenged their minds and egos as well as their bodies.

But in recent months, the nipple count has risen dramatically. Last week, Kendall Jenner joined the Free The Nipple movement, enthusing about the joys of being barebreasted. ‘I really don’t see what the big deal is,’ wrote the 20-year-old model. ‘It’s sexy, it’s comfortable and I’m cool with my breasts.’

Earlier this summer, London saw the opening of The Bunyadi, a naked restaurant that had a 46,000-strong waiting list when it launched. ‘It’s about feeling comfortable in your body,’ says owner Sebastien Lyall. The idea is that when we’re stripped of phones, electric lighting and clothes, dining becomes a different experience.

And then, last week, Channel 4 debuted an all-new dating show that is taking nudity to the next level. Naked Attraction, presented by Anna Richardson, is basically Blind Date for a new, naked generation of singles. An eligible specimen chooses their blind date from the bottom up (literally); the face of their would-be lover is the last thing to be revealed. Four minutes into the first episode, we’ve seen six penises close up and Anna Richardson is asking Aina, a 32-year-old music producer, whether she values ‘length or girth’.

‘We always knew it was going to be a very ground-breaking show,’ Anna tells Grazia. ‘The whole experience was positive and celebratory – nobody criticised anyone else’s body. I hope this is the start of seeing more nakedness out there and people accepting themselves more.’

We’ve come a long way from hiding our copies of Fifty Shades Of Grey on the Tube. Earlier this month, more than 3,000 people gathered in Hull, stripped off, and were painted blue for an art installation by the photographer Spencer Tunick. Danielle Robilliard, 38, a social worker, told The Guardian that it felt like being part of a special club. ‘The point when you had to get naked was terrifying,’ she said. ‘But actually, within minutes it felt normal.’

So, what’s behind our keenness to get our kit off? Anna thinks it could be a reaction to uncertain political times. ‘I think people are wanting to be able to express themselves and feel liberated in their nakedness in these increasingly unsafe times,’ she says. Having dabbled in nakedness, I’ve come to see it as a form of gentle rebellion. We used to express this through fashion, but now that Ramones T-shirts are sold in Topshop, we need a new way. There is no more rebellious outfit than nudity. And there’s a definite backlash against the glossy versions of ourselves that we present on Instagram. As Naked Attraction contestant Aina puts it, ‘Style is something that guys can hide behind. I just want to see them.’ Nakedness in 2016 isn’t about exhibitionism; it’s about the opposite. It’s about being ourselves again.

With naked yoga, naked dining and now naked TV dating heating up the summer of 2016, Anna Hart asks why we’re all so desperate to cast off our clothes