STYLE VS. STATEMENT AS CELEBS DON CORSETS
Not everyone is ready to start sucking it all in
In the celeb world, it’s out with belts and in with corsets.
Yes, we’re talking about a revival of Victorianera waist- trainers.
While on the big screen Emma Watson ditched the corset in Beauty and the Beast, in recent months, corsets have started circling the slender waists of trend- setters such as Gigi Hadid, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. Only this time, the boning is proudly on display, with stars layering the rib- crunching undergarment over T- shirts and thermals.
The trend is growing: Fashion corsets are now gracing the windows ofmass retailers such as Zara and Forever 21.
The look didn’t come out of a vacuum: Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, Balmain, Louis Vuitton and Preen are among designers who have been known to strap waist trainers on their models before hitting the runway.
In fact, a sharp renaissance involving the waist-cinchers came from Prada’s Fall 2016 collection, which showcased loosely tied corsets over Miuccia Prada’s designs. “It just looked so cool,” says Eric Wilson, fashion news director of InStyle. “It was more of a nod to that history in a very knowing way by taking ownership of this garment that was once so restrictive.”
Within days, he adds, “people were making their own corset belts.”
At the March 7 premiere of Personal Shopper, Kristen Stewart hopped onto the trend, wearing Sally LaPointe’s Pre- Fall 2017 corset pants. A soft A. L. C. bra top completed the look.
So what’s the M. O. here? Is this a 2017 twist on bra- burning — or a return to ghastly expectations of the female form?
Centuries ago, the corset rose in popularity as a suffocating, cinching device among aristocrats, with linen- wrapped boning leaving women gasping, and sometimes fainting, as their organs were rearranged so mid-sections could be pulled taut.
The look died out in the early 20th century as war supplies took priority over fashion. By the 1920s, the corseted look had waned in favor of looser styles, coinciding with a decade that finally gave women the right to vote in the U. S.
More recently, corsets have been mostly relegated to costuming. Madonna reclaimed the trend in 1989, donning Jean Paul Gaultier’s pink satin corset with conical bra cups, a stage look later mimicked by Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.
“For the most part, they are used to gain a more hourglass figure,” says Ruben Soto of Hourglass Angel, which sells shapewear and undergarments. Though he hasn’t seen an uptick in corset sales since stars flipped the approach on how to wear them, “maybe long term it will change the impression of what corsets are and make them a little more approachable,” Soto says.
Corsetry pops up cyclically in the fashion world “every decade,” says Wilson, who doesn’t think the latest incarnation is simply a celebrity fad among ‘ it’ girls, such as Nicola Peltz or Hailey Baldwin.
This time, insiders say the intention is far more politicized.
“I don’t think this is a trend that people are adopting just because Kim Kardashian wore it,” Wilson says “It’s such a powerful look that you have to realize you’re basically putting a bra or a corset over your clothes. That significance can’t be lost on people.” But not everyone is lacing up. “Being a lady today means letting yourself be vulnerable and acknowledging your shame or that you’re sad or you’re angry,” Lady Gaga wrote in an essay for Harper’s Bazaar last November.