As we're welcoming back our in-person calendars, many of us have decided to show a little flesh after ages spent in waist-up Zoom view. Trending bralettes, corsets, unexpected cut-out placements, skin-tight bodysuits and Y2K-inspired dresses are only reiterating that revealing skin is in. Our response to going out now? Comfortably numb to comfortable sexy.
"Imagery today has encouraged us to enjoy our respective forms and not be shy to show it off. Post COVID-19, people have gone into a more resort-feel, and they're wearing their printed crop tops with matching shirts and loose pants, so the comfort factor is still there, but we're celebrating us being free and out in the world," says stylist, costume designer and creative consultant Anaita Shroff Adajania.
A large part of how you dress is defined by what's around you, the visuals you're consuming and basically everything on social media. In 2020, when Instagram introduced reels, it quickly became an outlet to showcase dancing with uninhibited body movements, daring outfit changes and other bolder aspects of our personality. At the same time, Emily in Paris and Bridgerton projected fashion with sex appeal as an overarching theme. Not to mention salacious red carpet looks—Megan Fox's nearly-naked Mugler gown as she and Kourtney Kardashian snogged their tattoo-ed halves in a bathroom at the MTV VMA's popped eyeballs. Most recently, Rihanna's pregnancy announcement and every other look that followed has given birth to a new trend: sexy maternity fashion.
There's also the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan that have continually told us that less is more. "We go from the hypersexual style of Kim Kardashian and anything she wears to what women really want—which is still normcore fashion and dresses with pockets. I think sex has become more commercial now. It's calculated and contrived. When I see the corsets and the BDSM nature of some fashion imagery, I am left cold, not because the women aren't incredibly beautiful. They are. And the image is stunning. But what I notice is how hard everything is trying," says Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief, Tata Cliq Luxury.
There's no doubt that pop culture stars have changed the narrative and brought a self-confidence that is very infectious, but it comes with its limitations. Adajania Shroff adds, "They wear their sexuality and sensuality very casually, and that's refreshing. If that's the way you like to dress and that's what you're attracted to, then no one should stop you from embracing it. But you need to do it for you."
"DESIGNERS HAVE MADE AN EFFORT TO DESIGN BASIC PIECES BEAUTIFULLY AND DEMOCRATICALLY, GOING BEYOND A SIZE S."Anaita Shoff Adajania
While today revealing fashion is inspired by digital content, for an older generation, it was advertisements. From fast fashion to high luxury, sexuality has spilt from the billboards of brands since the advertising industry first emerged. And no one sold it better than Tom Ford. In 1994, when he was appointed as Gucci's creative director, the Texan designer enticed the world with revealing cut-out dresses and navel-grazing shirts. He then sent models down the runway in nothing but a G-string and pair of Chelsea boots. Next came his perfume advertisements with bottles in front of crotches and nothing else.
If sex sells in fashion, Tom Ford was its OG creator. Everything he put out at Gucci was peak provocation, but it also projected women as bold, empowered beings. "Tom Ford's Gucci showed another kind of woman. She knew herself. She was confident and didn't need sex to sell. I am all for sexuality being flaunted because it is ours to do what we want with it—my body, my choice—and even the performative nature of that is exciting. But what I am missing is how an image can sit in popular culture and yet push the envelope without objectifying the subject," says Kalra.
In Ford's case, he may have gone slightly overboard with his titillating campaigns. In perhaps one of the most well-known fashion advertisements to date, Ford joined forces with photographer Mario Testino in 2003 for a series of fetish-inspired Gucci ads. One photo, starring model Carmen Kass' pubic hair shaped into a Gucci "G," was instantly banned worldwide. When he went on to helm YSL in 1999, his infamous ad for the Opium fragrance with model Sophie Dahl, stark naked and sprawled on her back, was removed from billboards. The US Advertising Standards Authority called it "sexually suggestive and unsuitable to be seen by children." He wasn't the only one.
Diesel's 2011 "Be Stupid" campaign was banned across the UK for being too suggestive. In 2015, a Miu Miu ad was banned for "inappropriately sexualising a model" due to backlash concerning her youthful appearance. The woman featured was Mia Goth, who was 22-years-old at the time. In December, an advert for fashion retailer Jigsaw that featured a model climbing over a fence in her underwear was banned for 'objectifying' women. It belies the question: how much is too much? When does the risqué cross into the wrong? Is sexualised fashion equivalent to empowerment and freedom, or does it objectify women?
There's been a noticeable shift in the world of intimates and fashion marketing, with conversations about body positivity, authenticity, inclusivity and diversity playing a vital role in exploring sexuality. Rihanna's recent Savage x Fenty Valentine's Day campaign had a diverse line-up of change-making models—a running theme right from her debut show in 2018. Nike, Forever 21, Zara and H&M have expanded their offerings to include larger sizes with powerful visuals accompanying them.
For Adajania Shroff, sex in fashion isn't directly proportionate to the perfect body, "Designers have made an effort to design basic pieces beautifully and democratically, going beyond a size S. My high has always been to style real people who may not be conventionally good looking. I put curvy women in the tightest clothes because it's necessary to tell the world that you have to embrace your body and own it," she says.
"TOM FORD'S GUCCI SHOWED ANOTHER KIND OF WOMAN. SHE KNEW HERSELF. I AM ALL FOR SEXUALITY BEING FLAUNTED BUT WHAT I AM MISSING IS HOW AN IMAGE CAN SIT IN POPULAR CULTURE AND YET PUSH THE ENVELOPE WITHOUT OBJECTIFYING THE SUBJECT."Nonita Kalra
"Fashion without sex does not exist, and I love that," says Kalra. I can be more than just a skin show—an expression of power, boldness and independence. The age-old adage of if you look good, you feel good holds true, especially if you're idea of looking good is to show off your physical form. It's a personal choice." But we need to ask what makes women feel sexy? Confidence? Comfort? Being part of a community of strong women? I am not sure today's imagery belongs to us or is about us," she adds.
If beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, then know that you can't control the beholder's intentions—objectification is part of the male and female gaze. Brands are responsible for the messaging they put out. Provocative, attention-grabbing imagery will make noise for the wrong reason, but a narrative that's personal and not about the act of pleasing others will come out winning.