If the naked dress phenomenon of 2022 left you with a dose of body-oil-induced PTSD, look away now. Because 2023 has been the year in which fashion abandoned trousers. From the Kardashian-Jenners to Jodie Turner-Smith; Taylor Russell to Hailey Bieber, those who subscribe to the trend cycle have been upping their squatting regimes and feeling the breeze on their buttocks this year. Unlike the whispers of dresses that previously won over Planet Celebrity thanks to Versace, Cavalli, and co, there’s one woman largely to thank for positioning the derrière as fashion’s favorite erogenous zone: Miuccia Prada.
It started with the visible boxers peeping over itsy-bitsy belt skirts back in spring/summer 2022. By fall 2023, the Miu Miu woman was walking out of the house in just a cardi and knickers. “If I were younger, I would go out in panties!” a joyful Mrs Prada said of her sometimes frantic muse—best encapsulated by Emma Corrin, who closed the show. Next summer, Miss Miu Miu will throw caution entirely to the wind and skip down the street in beachy undies with drawstring waistbands and sandals accessorized with plasters covering the war wounds of modern-day adventuring.
Others have also ditched the Hemline Index—which suggests hems hike in line with rising stock shares—and decided that we can all afford to get our legs out if the world is seemingly ending. Bottega Veneta sent an exquisitely simple navy crew neck over black briefs, black nylons, and black pumps down the spring 2023 runway, which eventually sent social media into a tailspin when Kendall Jenner wore them in the wild. Even Victoria Beckham, who herself rocked a pair of cheek-grazing satin shorts on Maria Grachvogel’s runway in 2000, did tailoring and knickers for her first Paris show that season. The forecast for spring 2024 is just as scantily-clad, with Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Isabel Marant, and Alexander McQueen showcasing XXS hotpants that will keep the fashion girlies in glutes-focused Barrecore classes.
Until then, the stars have been only too happy to compete in a friendly game of “Who Has Had A Brazilian Wax Recently?” Turner-Smith played the trump card in fashion’s pantless contest at Vogue World: London in a pair of minuscule Viktor & Rolf briefs and a sculptural top that underscored her commitment to serving a look. But Kendall Jenner, who first bought into the trend via those Bottegas, has been giving her a run for her money in multiple teeny-tiny looks that are often inexplicably accessorized with sunflowers.
While a bunch of bright yellow blooms is one distraction tactic, an entry-level way into the pantless looks perfected by Bieber, Kylie Jenner, and Blackpink’s Jennie is via a pair of tights. Specifically Calzedonias. Sheer black nylons elevate pants from well, just being pants into an eveningwear proposition that has all the coolness of Edie Sedgwick and all the sass of a supermodel in the ’90s. (See pictures of the Chanel runway circa ’91 for proof.)
Where do we go from here? If tighty-whities (looking at you Kylie) are an antidote to the sensible investment pieces also dominating the runways, then don’t expect the boldness to stop any time soon. We’ve been starved of red carpets and hungry for fashion drama, and visible underwear briefly (sorry) satiates this desire for fantasy. Perhaps that’s a better barometer than the Hemline Index—when things fall apart, we dream big and, sometimes, step into our smalls.
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