Style Counsel
SHEER WE GO... THE ‘NAKED DRESS’ IS BACK
IF ONE look summed up fashion in the Nineties and early Noughties it had to be the ‘naked dress’.
So named because the wearer may as well have been nude for all the coverage it offered, red carpets were awash with them back then. And so, usually were the red top tabloids the next day.
When a starlet wanted media attention she simply reached for a frock fashioned out of frothy bits of chiffon or gossamer.
A pair of ‘granny’ knickers and a few strings of sequins would be occasionally utilised to preserve their modesty, but more often than not bottoms, if not nipples, would be out for all and sundry to see.
Some more modest celebs/ wannabes would go on to claim they didn’t know their gown was see-through until the paparazzi’s flashbulbs hit it.
As with most trends, all roads lead back to Kate Moss.
The supermodel was just 19 when she attended an Elite Model Agency party in 1993 wearing a now infamous see-through silver slip that left nothing to the imagination, and a pair of black briefs.
Needless to say, we chose not to reprint it here. Google it if you must – although maybe not on a work PC.
In the decades since, the ‘naked dress’ has existed on the fashion periphery. Always there to be called on when in need of a a headline or to go viral online but not the sort of thing you would expect to pick up in Dorothy Perkins or John Lewis.
Memorable ‘naked’ moments include Jennifer Lopez’s green Versace gown in 2000 – a dress so famous it led to the creation of Google Images; Rihanna’s sparkly design at 2014’s CFDA awards; Beyoncé at the 2015 Met Gala; Zoe Kravitz at the 2021 Met Gala, and pretty much any time one of the Kardashians steps out of the house.
Now it looks like the naked dress is going mainstream. And who better to confirm that than ol’ Mossy herself...
Earlier this month, Kate, now 48, attended an awards ceremony in New York wearing a completely sheer olive gown by Saint Laurent.
A few days later, she hosted a 40th birthday bash for Diet Coke (the model is the fizzy drink’s new creative director) in London, wearing a shimmering gown from Turner Vintage that revealed almost everything.
Thanks to an unfortunate breeze and a well-placed photographer, she revealed even more as she headed home from the party.
I am sure she couldn’t care less. No such thing as bad publicity eh?
Keeping up the naked dress momentum, on Sunday night Taylor Swift attended the MTV EMA awards wearing a lattice skirt number by designer David Koma, while TV presenter Rochelle Humes turned up at the GQ Men of the Year awards on Wednesday in a stunning silver mesh two-piece.
Meanwhile, on the high street, Mango is offering a sheer midi dress that would have looked right at home at the Met Bar in 1998 and there are flesh-flashing designs aplenty to be found at Zara, while Asos and Boohoo are awash with see-through numbers.
No doubt next month’s British Fashion Awards will see lots of stars opting for the bare necessities.
Love or loathe this particular trend, it looks like a case of undress to impress.